Let's trust love
by Dooba
Summary: The Cullens go back to high school, 7 years after the end of BD. What starts out to be a fun endeavor, soon turns into dangers that nobody had foreseen... What damage can a crazy lovesick girl inflict? Rated M for some language and lemon. Canon pairs.
1. Fun thoughts

**A/N: Just having some fun with Edward and Bella in high school. This takes place Post Breaking Dawn, and Bella has gained some confidence at least. I tried to keep to the original characters as much as I could, but I don't them as well as Stephenie Meyer does.  
**

** I planned to put this into an entire story. As I'm writing this, the story is unfolding in my head at rapid speed.  
**

**This is my first fanfic. I'm not a native English speaker, so please forgive any mistakes. I appreciate feedback on my writing skills, both regarding the content as well as the quality of my English!**

**I don't own the characters or anything else related to the magnificent Twilight series. I do own this plot.  
**

**

* * *

**

I swirled into Biology just a tad late, the teacher was just about to begin his lesson for the day. I smiled apologetically at him and let my eyes wander about the room. Although I did not need my eyes to know where I should go, it was still a sight to see Edward waiting for me in the back of the class. He'd saved me a seat and now beckoned me with his eyes.

"You must be an other new girl," the teacher smiled. "I'm Mr. Jones, your teacher. Could you find this class alright? Why don't you take the opportunity to introduce yourself, while you're still here at front?"

I smiled and nodded, then turned towards class. Half of the students weren't even paying attention. The glory of attending a big school. I shrugged before I said the mandatory lines. "Hi, I'm Bella, I'm 17. I just moved here from Alaska with my parents." After a second of thought, I added: "I like it here. It's less cold." I could barely but definitely hear Edward's snicker from the back of the class.

When Mr. Jones beckoned me to have a seat, I thought of something. With just a little effort I lowered my shield, keeping my face serene, while I started to walk to Edward's desk.

_Oh, there's only one seat left. Guess I'll just go and sit there, then. Oh my, but he's a hottie! Wonder what his name is? Should I ask him?_

I had the pleasure of seeing Edward's surprised face when I sat down next to him. I decided to drag this out a little further. Just a little.

I fanned out my hair over my left shoulder, just as I had done all those years ago when we had shared a desk at Biology. I could feel how he was resisting the urge to put my hair back behind my ear - I knew how much he loved to see my face.

As girly as I could, I peeked at him from behind the curtain of my hair.

_ Is he looking? Oh! He is! Have a look at those eyes! And that body! I'd tap that. Swoon._

This time Edward could not contain his laughter, and so he poorly tried to disguise it as a cough. I could barely keep my own face composed. A few students were looking our way now, but they couldn't make any sense of what Edward was doing. I stared straight ahead, not meeting Edward's gaze. It would be my undoing to see his eyes, I was sure of that.

As Mr. Jones started the lesson, talking about osmosis and whatnot, I could feel boredom set in immediately. Edward was looking distracted as well, obviously tapping into our fellow students' heads to see if any of their thoughts were alarming to us. And to distract himself from me, I supposed.

Suppressing an evil grin, I lowered my shield again.

_He looks distracted. Well, I should have known that he wouldn't notice me. Hmm, I'd know what I do with such a body, would I happen across it in my bed, say, tonight..._

It snapped Edward out of his trance sure enough. He looked at me again, the look in his eyes was priceless. I bit my lip not so as not to explode.

Just then my phone vibrated in my pocket. Alice, of course. I started to read her text. This time _I_ had to disguise my laughter as a coughing fit:

_Behave. You're going to give 'exposure' a whole new meaning if you keep on driving Edward to extremes like this._

A wicked grin flashed across my face. Quickly I sent her a reply: _Ok. I'll be good, I promise. _Then I put my phone back in my pocket before Mr. Jones had had the chance to look up and see me with it.

Alice was right, though. We'd gone over this again and again. It turned out that there were different aspects of 'self-control' Edward and I both had to learn. So as doom's day was approaching, we decided, with much chuckles and shrugging, that we would try staying away from each other. We had spent months trying to 'behave,' so that we could cope with public situations such as high school. At first I wasn't at all inclined to put too much effort in it. But we tried nevertheless. Being in school for a third part of the day meant not only the temptation of being with humans, but also the temptation of being in close proximity with Edward, whilst not being allowed to touch him. Or at least, not in any way that I would like to, given the chance. I was pretty sure that Edward felt the same.

We'd followed the same course as Emmet and Rosalie had. First, we went hunting without the other. That way we would be away from each other for a day or so, and it would be difficult to seek the other out in the meantime. Being so far away from each other for a certain amount of hours was uncomfortable, but bearable. After two tries however, Alice did insist that we put on old clothes before we saw each other again, because whatever we were wearing at our reunion, it would not see another dawn.

When we were getting used to the physical pain we felt when being miles apart, we started trying spending a couple of hours in the same house, but in a different room. Edward would play piano most of the time, I would try to watch some TV or read something - anything. Our success rate was alarmingly low.

Of course our siblings were trying to help us, albeit in their own way. Emmett mainly boasted about how we would surely start breaking down some walls when we'd managed to get through a day of school without cracking. It annoyed me, but I could ignore him quite easily. Alice literally ran away screaming a couple of times, crying that she could no longer bear the visions of us she kept seeing. Well, if I wasn't going to be with Edward, at least I could plan what I would do to him when I had him back in my arms, could I not? Jasper visited us both for small talk now and then during our periods of seclusion, but he got on my nerves when I felt the feelings he was projecting. When I confronted him, he put the most innocent of looks on his face: "Hey, don't blame the messenger!" He'd actually managed to sound piqued. Renesmee was almost desolate as she dribbled between me and Edward, hugging us and trying to cheer us up with her happy memories. But she understood why we were doing this. She was our child, but she was a grown-up all right. And in a full-fledged happy relationship with Jacob Black.

Carlisle and Esme kept to themselves, it was Carlisle's philosophy that it would be easiest for Edward and I if we tried to figure out ourselves how to manage being away from each other.

And then there was Rosalie. She was the only one that was actually trying to help me. She came to sit with me one dreary afternoon, just after I'd thrown my battered copy of _Wuthering Heights_ into the wall. The damaged binding of the book finally had given in and loose pages whirled about the room. I sighed. Great. Now I'd have to get a new one, and paper classics like these were getting harder to find. I was not yet sold about the whole e-book thing.

Rose just looked into my room as the pages were settling down, and asked me if she could keep me company.

"I'm not in a happy place," I warned her.

Rose accepted that as a consent and walked into the room in her high heels. She was so elegant, it still pained me to see her move like that.

She put her arm round my shoulders as she sat down next to me. I was curled up at the couch, wearing a sweater that was so big I could fold my legs under it - which I'd done. My arms were wrapped around my legs, my chin was resting on my knees. I'd been very comfortable in this position when I was still human.

Rosalie tucked my hair behind my ear, cooing shushing sounds.

"I just can't see how being away from Edward _now_ is going to make it any easier later," I pouted.

Rosalie smiled sympathetically at that. "I know honey, it was just as hard for Emmet and I. And we had been together for longer than you and Edward are now. I'm sorry you couldn't put this off any longer."

Indeed. I'd delayed enrolling into a 'normal' life for as long as I could. Edward was in on that conspiracy, though, so I could not be blamed for all of it.

The first year after our confrontation with the Volturi, the obvious argument had been that I was a newborn that could not be trusted around humans. And of course there was Renesmee.

The second year I 'almost slipped up' as inconspicuously as possible, and it was obvious that I was not starting high school for yet another year. And of course there was Renesmee.

The third year I could no longer hide that I was very much in control of my thirst, but as Edward had stated very nicely, this could only mean that our bridal days could finally really start. Another two years were added to postpone impending doom, and we went to a cozy, very remote place were we could play house in earnest. And of course there was Renesmee.

The fifth year, which really, really came way too fast after the third and the fourth, I was running out of excuses. But of course, there was Renesmee. And I flat out refused to miss even one second of her while she was still growing, let alone waste a third of the time I could be with her at school, whilst already losing a third of my time with her because she needed to sleep.

And now, with Renesmee grown and the excuse of 'bridal days' no longer usable – I had been furious when it was obviously thought that Edward and I did not need a 'solid decade' for that – I was here, preparing to be away from Edward by being away from Edward. Really, the uncanny logic behind this was beyond me.

I looked up at Rosalie. Over the last years we had build an intense friendship with each other. The bonding that had started when I was pregnant with Renesmee had only intensified when Renesmee grew up. She really was a very nice friend, once you got past the superficial façade.

"I think you and Edward are doing a really good job," Rosalie continued. "And we all really appreciate that you are trying this, so that we can make a new start as a complete family again. I do, at least."

I smiled thankfully at her for that. "At least you're not trying to make it worse, like some others. I wouldn't call any names," I let my voice rise a little, so that I could be sure everybody could hear.

"Hey, I'm innocent as a baby!" Emmet called from downstairs.

"A baby from hell," I muttered, and Emmet's booming laugh thundered through the house.

"What's wrong, little sis', can't take the teasing?"

Did he just say _teasing_? Well, two could play at that game.

"What's wrong, big bro'?" I replied, "still mad about that wrestling match you lost yesterday?"

In an instant I could hear Emmet flying up the stairs, doubtless wanting to challenge me for a rematch. But then, just then, the egg timer rang. The piano music that had been playing stopped abruptly. Edward beat Emmet to the door of our room, snatched me up in one fluent movement and flew out of the window, into the forest, into oblivion.

"Miss Bella? Care to answer my question?"

Drat. What did I miss? I chanced a glance at Edward, who was studiously ignoring me. Very nice.

"I am so sorry, Mr. Jones. Could you please repeat your question?"

He seemed a little taken aback by my politeness. Just as well, I did not want to make a bad impression on my first day.

"Could you tell me what osmotic pressure is?"

"Of course," I answered pleasantly, "osmotic pressure is what keeps plants upright. When water enters the plant by osmosis, the turgor pressure exerted against the cell wall is raised, until it equals the osmotic pressure, thus creating a steady state."

Mr. Jones did not reply immediately to my answer. His hesitation made me uncertain. Had I said something wrong? I quickly flipped open my Biology book, searching for the right page. Then I sighed in relief. I'd given the right answer, I'd just used slightly more scientific terminology than was right for a high school student. I suppressed a grin at that thought. Maybe I _was_ slightly more educated than your average high school student. My hunger for knowledge was definitely a personality trait I'd brought with me to this life. I was a welcomed guest in both the library as well as the local bookstore.

Hmm, the bookstore. I was certainly looking forward to my next visit there. My new book order had arrived. Twenty treasures were waiting for me.

Did I mention that I was easily distracted?

I glanced at the clock. We were halfway through the lesson, with twenty-five minutes to go. Wait, what? I would have thought that all my mind wandering had at least cost me some more time than a mere twenty minutes. Technically I wasn't even half way through the lesson, as I had been five minutes late. This was worth a very human-sounding sigh, indeed.

I shot another sideways glance at my husband. He was rigid, a look of concentration furrowing his brow. What was he listening to? Or rather, who? In any case, he was sitting way too still.

"Fidget," I whispered under my breath. At once he sat back, crossing his arms and clearing his throat. He still did not look at me. Was he annoyed that I had played with his mind earlier on? I couldn't image that.

Leaning forward, I caught his gaze. I had to suppress a gasp when I saw his eyes. Liquid topaz, and positively smoldering. Oh, my. Was that because of my little game? I could not deny that I was viciously proud of that accomplishment. But I thought _I_ was supposed to be the one who was having issues with control? Maybe I should help him a little. I lowered my shield.

_Pizza,_ I sent his way.

Although he was looking straight ahead, I could see him raise an eyebrow.

_Barbecue__. Wet dog smell. Jacob in a wedding dress._

It worked – he snickered and seemed to relax a little.

_You know, I think you're doing a good job,_ I tried to assure him. I wished, I deeply, sorely wished, that I could grab his hand for comfort. But this school had a strict non-PDA policy. Leave it to me to be the last one to find out that that doesn't have anything to do with smartphones.

Edward still did not look my way. Instead, he ripped out a piece of paper from his notebook, and started to write in his impeccable handwriting:

_If I'd known it'd be this hard, I'd kidnapped you for at least another year or two. It's really quite annoying, this._

I guessed he was writing at human speed just to kill time. I took the piece of paper from him and wrote back:

_Then again, we've been through worse, haven't we? And think about how sweet it'll be when we get home…_

Edward didn't move, but I knew he had read my message. Then I did something that, in my eyes at least, made me a true monster. I leaned towards him carefully, letting my breath stir the hair that fell over his ear as I whispered, "I've found us a new meadow…"

That was it. His jaw clenched, and his hands gripped the table with such force that I was afraid he was going to break it. He remained like that for the rest of the lesson. My phone vibrated in my pocket again, but I ignored it. I was having way too much fun to be scolded by Alice.

When the bell rang, Edward got up immediately and left the room before the others had started to pack their books, without so much as glancing back at me. It was such a close resemblance to our first ever Biology class, that I could not suppress a smile. It was a good thing that Edward and I did not have the next class together. We could not have pulled that through.

* * *

**_Hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it... Tell me what you think!_**


	2. Game on

**A/N So, I've had dozens of hits and even a couple of reviews in the first week! Thank you so much!**

**I wanted to let you know that this story will not only be funny, some serious drama will be coming. **

**For now, the Cullens are still trying to get through their first day. Let me know what you think!  
**

* * *

While I was stuffing my books into my bag, I heard someone approaching me. I remembered just in time that I should turn around _after_ people made their presence known.

So only when I heard that the person cleared his throat did I turn around.

"Hi, I saw you were new, and, well, I thought, if I'd introduce myself to you, you would at least know one person in this school." A guy with blond hair and blue eyes stood before me. He had a sweet face; he had not yet lost that childish chubbiness.

His voice was shy, and I could tell that he was being sincere. He must have ignored the unusual amount of courage it had taken him to approach me, as his instinct must have told him to stay away. I found this so endearing that I smiled at him. His eyes lit up like a child's when given a treat.

"You should tell me your name then," I encouraged him.

"Mark. Mark Burke," he added hastily. "And you're Bella, right?"

"Exactly," I smiled. When he moved to offer me his hand, I timed my turn to pick up my backpack from the table to the second. No need for skin contact. Weren't those social etiquette things fading fast, anyway?

"So, your lab partner seemed to be in a hurry to be out of here," Mark offered.

"Yes, wonder what bothered him," I murmured. _Nothing much, really_, I thought. _Just the all-consuming fires of lust and desire. _

"Um," Mark hesitated, looking around him. The class was almost empty now. "So what's your next class?"

"English Literature, I think."

"Really? That's my next class too! Come on, I'll be your guide."

His enthusiasm reminded me of a puppy with a wagging tail. Wow, that thought really gave me the sense of a déjà-vu…

The halls were almost empty as we walked through them. Mark turned out to be an excellent guide, telling me fun little facts about the school on our way to class.

"How do you know all these things?" I asked him after he'd made me laugh by telling me that they'd once painted the school pink as part of a graduation stunt.

"Well… I work for the school paper, and I thought that if I'd put something fun to read in it, people might actually start to read it, instead of folding it into paper planes."

That made me smile again. "Good point," I admitted. "So do you write other things than just fun stuff?" Wow, it'd been a long time since I'd had a conversation with anyone else but my family, and I found it very refreshing. It came easier to me than I expected, as well, which was a good thing. It must mean I was really getting a hang on my self-control. My throat didn't burn that much at all around him.

"I do all the features for the school paper," Mark boasted a little. "But I really just love to write stories though. You know, fiction."

We'd arrived at our class then. I could see Alice and Jasper sitting in the back. There was only one empty table left in class, just before the one were my siblings were sitting.

"Hi," Alice greeted me with her usual enthusiasm. It was obvious she was wondering about the boy that sat down next to me with some sort of ease. And pride, I realized when I took a better look at him.

When I looked back at Alice, she winked at me. It was her little sign to let me know I was doing all right. But I didn't need her assurance, really. I could feel that all was well.

"So, fiction?" I continued my conversation with Mark.

He looked almost incredulously at me, surprised that I was picking up our conversation again.

"Yeah, just some bits and pieces…" Oh, _now_ he was shy all of a sudden?

Just then our teacher, Mr. Garrett, started the lesson, preventing me from asking my next question.

"Okay, class, for today you were supposed to have read Orwell's _1984_. I can understand if the new students have not had the chance to read that book… Or have you by any chance?" The teacher looked at us expectantly.

"Yes, we did," Alice said sweetly. "How could anyone _not_ have read such a classic?"

Mindboggling. I think her sweetness alone just earned her an A+ in this class, regardless of the quality of the work she would hand in.

Mr. Garrett looked very pleased indeed. Then he turned back to the rest of the class, and started his introductory speech about the famous story of "big brother."

I turned my head just a little to get Alice's attention.

"How is Edward?" I asked, my whisper so low that even Mark couldn't hope to hear it.

"Fine, but seriously, Bella, what where you thinking!" Alice scolded, speaking also in a way that nobody but Jasper and I could hear — at least in this room.

I scratched the back of my head to disguise a shrug. "Can't a girl have some fun?"

"I wouldn't describe it as fun," Alice pouted. "The visions of what Edward wanted to do with you were driving _me_ crazy."

It took me an effort not to laugh out loud. I could hear Jasper's snicker as well.

"How is the rest?" I demanded. "Renesmee, Jacob? Em and Rose?"

"All very fine," Alice assured me with a loving look in her eyes. "Renesmee will flood you with stories, no doubt."

I smiled in warm anticipation.

This time I had used my remarkable mind to pay attention to the lesson while I was having my conversation with Alice, so I could seamlessly join in on the discussion Mr. Garrett was trying to get going.

"Does nobody of you have a real opinion about the statements made in _1984_?" he asked almost exasperated. "Orwell thought when he wrote it that it was a very real vision of the future. There are people that say it still is, only that it will happen later than Orwell predicted."

No one really felt the need to reply.

"All right then," Mr. Garrett then tried. "How do you feel about your privacy? What do you think about a government that can watch your every move, by means of a microchip implanted in your body?"

This did bring about a reaction in the students.

"I would never allow that," a girl with long brown hair stated. "They can't just do that, you know."

"I think they can," a boy with black spiky hair replied. His eyes were of a remarkably light blue color, I noticed, as he looked around to face the girl who had spoken first. "They first make sure that everyone is scared enough. Then, as a measure of precaution, everybody will have such a chip implanted. A government can easily make such a thing happen. They speak about threats, they feed fear. When you make people scared enough, they will want to do anything to help out, and to make sure that their innocence is very clear. A chip can provide that safety."

"That's why it's called terrorism," Jasper said quietly. Mark looked around at him to nod his approval.

"I would not allow it," the brunette girl persisted. "It's really sick if it's known where you are all the time."

"Comes in handy when you go missing though," a tiny blonde girl joked.

Mr. Garrett was leaning against his desk now, arms crossed, quietly pleased that his class was having a discussion.

"Still, having a chip on you?" That brunette was starting to get on my nerves. There was something in her voice that hurt my ears when she spoke.

"You do realize that you already probably have one on you, don't you?" I said without looking up from my notebook, on which I was doodling. Or rather, drawing something Escher-like.

"You think I would know that, don't you?" she snapped back.

This time I looked up. "I think you don't. Or don't you have a cell phone on you, registered on your name? How do you think those things _work_?"

The brunette was quiet now, her mouth hanging open as she was trying to find an answer I supposed. It was a fun sight to see. She had obviously spent a lot of time on her appearance this morning, but it made her look like a clown as she was forgetting to keep her face composed.

Mark snickered beside me, and from the corner of my eye I could see Jasper trying to hold back his laughter as well.

"But you have a phone as well." The brunette finally seemed to have thought of something she could throw at me. "I saw you use it in Biology just this morning." Her grin was almost evil. What was she trying to get at? Oh, right, I realized, no phones were allowed in this school. I suppressed a sigh. Like I cared.

"Or do you call _pre-paid_?" she finally finished her little sneer at me when Mr. Garrett had not accepted the bait and demanded I hand in my phone.

"As a matter of fact, I do," I said pleasantly. "My phone is not registered, either."

The girl was obviously not best pleased that her speech had not bothered me in the least. She continued to glare at me when Mr. Garrett took up the lesson again. I really wanted to stare that girl down, but Alice kicked my chair, letting me know that that wasn't a really good idea. Pity. It would have been nice to know how she would react.

My drawing had almost filled the entire page of my notebook — I didn't work with laptops, you couldn't _doodle_ on them — as Mr. Garrett announced the homework assignment: put your name through Google and bring a screen shot of the results.

_Interesting_, I thought as I looked around at Alice and Jasper with mischievous eyes. That should be _very_ little work for us then. I should find out the name of that annoying brunette, though. I wanted to know what _her_ name would turn up.

As the bell rang, announcing our morning break, Alice, Jasper and I walked together to our lockers, which just so happened to be in very close proximity to each other.

To my surprise, Mark tagged along. I returned to our earlier conversation.

"So, fiction?" I asked again.

"Yes," he stammered.

"What kind of fiction?" I turned to my locker to change my books. Alice and Jasper where at their own lockers, and I could see they were listening.

"Fantasy…" he trailed off, blushing a little.

Now the thirst did flare up in my throat. Such a delicious sight to see his warm blood so close under his skin…

Jasper shot me a warning look, but I just raised an eyebrow at him. I could _smell_ him, could I not? Surely there was no harm in that? I decided to distract myself a little, nevertheless.

"What kind of fantasy?" I urged. "If your stories contain as much words as your answers, it won't take much time to read them," I teased.

As he started to answer me, his attention was caught by something behind me. Or someone, rather, because I could smell Edward's incredible honey-and-lilac-and-sun scent before I could hear his soft footsteps on the ground. He was approaching me.

"That guy from Biology is walking towards you," Mark warned.

Before I turned to look, I saw that Alice was looking at Edward as well, with eyes that were shooting fire. Wait, what? Why?

I turned to meet my husband, but he was looking straight past me. His face was carefully expressionless. What was that look in his eyes? It was definitely not anger, nor jealousy. I knew those looks only too well. Was it fun? My curiosity beat my desire to go to him, so I stood and waited for what would happen.

If I had called myself a monster before for my actions, then what Edward did now came right smack out of the middle of hell.

As he walked past me through the crowded hallway, he bumped into me; his right shoulder against mine. I remembered just in time to give in and move with him, to look human. The second that our bodies touched, he pressed his along every inch of mine, blowing his sweet breath softly in my ear as he did so.

Even my vampire abilities could not prevent that my knees almost buckled with the sensations he sent through my body. He left me speechless as he walked away from me, continuing his original path.

As I got to my senses again, I turned around. "Very nice," I spat at his back with mock annoyance. Only I could see his body shake with repressed laughter.

Mark was stunned. "What was that for?" He wondered aloud, looking as Edward disappeared into the crowd. He'd obviously not noticed my sarcasm, and through human eyes it must have looked like Edward had just been walking into a girl with unnecessary force.

I ignored Mark and looked at Alice, who looked aghast at me, and quite angry as well. Then I looked at Jasper, who was standing with his eyes closed and a deep frown on his face. He was obviously trying to ignore the feelings I was undoubtedly radiating now.

_Oho_, I thought, lowering my shield, knowing that Edward would hear me. _Game on_.

* * *

_Courtesy to Orwell's magnificent book, 1984. Also I do not own the Twilight series. _


	3. On our best behavior

**A/N: I wanted to share a bit of my personal life with you. Feel free to skip this and start on the story :) But I always like to read Author's notes of others, so here's mine.  
**

** If you've read my profile (which you probably didn't, but that's okay, I won't be mad) you've seen that I've described myself as a workaholic. This was not a lie. I work about 36-40 hours on my regular job. In addition to that, I freelance a lot. Currently I am working on deadlines of both jobs. Needless to say, there's little time left for fun things. The money, however, is very, very welcome. **

**This means that this week at least I will have less time to write. The chapters I've done so far (but have not uploaded yet) are a bit slow to my taste. I've re-read my third chapter and still liked it however, so I'm sharing this one with you. **

**PS I'm thinking about a prologue as well. **

**PS 2: As said, I'm Dutch. I do not know how the US high school system works as it is completely different from what I know. Please work with me and forgive any mistakes that may seem obvious to you but to which I'm oblivious. :)  
**

**Enjoy :)  
**

* * *

We spent the short break before third period standing at our lockers. Unfortunately, Mark would not leave us, so there was no way I could talk freely with Alice and Jasper about my first experiences at high school. Did the boy not have friends of his own? Could I ask such a question?

The rest of my siblings checked in though, walking past me through the busy hallway casually. Before we started high school, we'd agreed that we would not put too much attention on us being an entire family, or on the fact that we were all couples. It would draw a lot of unnecessary attention, considering that there were eight of us now.

Rosalie and Emmett came to 'visit' first. They were walking next to each other, and I could clearly see that Rose was pissed about something. She and Emmett were maintaining a careful non-contact as they were walking as close to each other as they could without touching.

As Rose caught my gaze, her eyes lit up. I met her questioning look with a bright smile. She nodded at me then, looking pleased. "Told you," she mouthed. She was right.

Even Emmett looked supportive, not joking for once. But what were they so cranky about? I'd had to wait for lunch to ask them. Then I remembered I couldn't ask them at lunch, as they had different lunch times than us. They had enrolled a year higher than us, so we shared neither classes nor lunch. Rosalie had pleaded and pleaded with Carlisle to start a year higher, so that she would have to spend less time at school. We all knew that she hated it the most, and I thoroughly appreciated the effort she went through in order to keep our family together like this.

"So, how do you like your first day?" Mark asked. I think he hadn't even noticed my little exchange with Emmett and Rosalie.

"It's okay," I lied. I was having a blast, in fact. "It's always hard to change schools in the middle of the year."

"Yeah," he agreed. What did _he_ know about that?

"You guys are new here, too, right?" Mark asked, turning his attention to Alice and Jasper.

"Yes," Alice smiled. "We are. I'm Alice, and this is Jasper," she pointed.

I could tell Mark was mesmerized by Alice's pixie-like appearance. Jasper frowned a little at that.

"So, is that a coincidence, or do you know each other?" Mark's gaze shifted between the three of us.

"Perceptive," Jasper breathed lowly, so only Alice and I could hear.

"Indeed," I agreed, answering both Jasper and Mark with that.

"What — indeed, a coincidence, or indeed, you know each other?"

He was persistent! Alice looked up in surprise at his question. I saw her eyes become unfocused slightly, trying to figure out if anything bad would come of his question. I resolved on telling Mark that we knew each other, knowing that this would clear Alice's visions. Almost imperceptibly, she nodded at me.

"We know each other," I admitted. I did not feel the need however to explain every detail. Our family ties were getting very complicated. Mark seemed to get that, because he did not ask further questions.

Then I heard Renesmee's bell-like laughter just before she appeared in the hallway. Jacob was walking beside her, a smug look on his face as he'd succeeded in making her laugh. It made me so happy to see them happy together.

Renesmee was literally only little over seven years old, but she had been full-grown for almost a year. You could not hold on to the fact that she literally should be a child still, as she was an adolescent in every other way. She was extraordinarily pretty, with her curls dancing around her face. Her big brown eyes were the only asset of her that reminded of me — she was Edward's image in every other way. Her entire being sparkled with love and joy, and you could not _not_ fall in love with her the moment she caught your eye.

Jacob had never tried or thought anything — and both Alice and Edward could verify this — until Renesmee had made her interest in him known one day. And then Jake had started courting her in the sweetest of ways. Always very gentle, very patient. He'd leave a rose on her pillow, or brought her the chocolates she liked so much. He took her out on dates, and she would giggle like a real schoolgirl when he, mockingly, came to pick her up in his ancient Rabbit. He would take her everywhere she wanted to go, and he indulged in all her whims and wishes, without ever disrespecting her parents — Edward and I.

One afternoon, Renesmee had come home so flustered that I'd put my shield over her and Jacob in an instant, not wanting Edward to know in every detail what had happened. Edward had been furious, but I had not given in an inch. I waited for Renesmee to tell me when she was ready. That night she came to me, and with blushing cheeks and sparkling eyes, she'd showed me how she and Jacob had kissed for the first time.

I was only happy for her. It did not feel strange in any way to see Jake with my daughter like this. His imprinting had changed his entire nature, and he was _good_ to her, as she was to him. He'd been with her from the day she was born and the bond they shared was so intense it never really occurred to me to want to break them apart. Of course it had been difficult at first, but after the threat of the Volturi had subsided, I started to see what they meant for each other. So no, it didn't bother me. It did Edward sometimes, but he had come to terms with it. Jake and Renesmee were… a package deal.

And so Jacob, Edward and I had slipped into an easy companionship, which made life even more worthwhile. It always made me the happiest if the people I loved where happy themselves. And I did all I could to accommodate that.

Although Jacob and Renesmee were seriously dating, Edward and I had been very clear about one thing: no sleepovers. They both had their own room in the Cullen house, and although they did spend the main part of most evenings and nights together in either one of their rooms, when it was time for them to go to sleep, they'd go to their own beds. It was rarely a point of discussion. Renesmee was an easy child, to say the least. And besides, we would _know_ if even a toe was stepped out of line.

And now Jake and Renesmee were walking down the school hallway together. Jacob was obviously ignoring the school policy, as he was holding Renesmee's slender hand in his big one. Renesmee's eyes were bright with pleasure, no doubt from all the new experiences, as well as the fact that she was with Jacob. They had enrolled a year below us, the year where Jacob had dropped out when he'd phased for the first time. Although he did not like it as much, we'd all thought it a great idea if he finished high school at last. Jacob never was the studious type, but I hoped Renesmee's enthusiasm would make him at least give it a try.

Jacob and Renesmee greeted us all when they passed us, but they did not stay to chat. I presumed it was because of Mark. Renesmee did talk to me however, in her own way. In her passing, she brushed her hand against mine for a long moment. My head was flooded with happy images, as Alice had predicted. I glowed in pride at my daughter as she showed me how she and Jacob had sat in Calculus, heads close together as she tutored him.

Yes, they were happy enough. As such, I was happy as well.

The bell rang, a sharp buzzing sound that was obviously designed to be heard above the noise students could make.

"What's your next class?" Mark asked.

I took out my timetable for the sake of appearance. "Trig with Mrs. Rowley."

"Me too!" Alice chimed. Jasper rolled his eyes. I made a note to myself to ask him if Alice's enthusiasm for _everything_ did not annoy him at times.

"I have Spanish." Mark sounded almost disappointed. Although I did like the guy, I was relieved that at least I would have the next hour alone with my siblings.

"And after Spanish?" It was endearing to see him so distressed, I wanted to comfort him in some way.

"Chemistry…" he trailed off.

"We too," Alice said sweetly. "See you there, then. Got to go now, though!" And with that, she tugged me along to our next class.

Trig was uneventful. It long since had lost its mysteries to me as Edward had sat me down once to explain everything, after I was changed. Edward was an excellent tutor, but that had been a given fact before. The fact that I now could remember everything after hearing it once, had been a revelation.

Mrs. Rowley did ask us however to introduce ourselves at the beginning of the class. She started with me.

Again, the same story. I didn't even bother to get up this time. "I'm Bella, I'm seventeen, and I moved here from Alaska."

But Mrs. Rowley was not satisfied. "Really?" She asked. "Could you tell a bit more about that? I'm sure we'd all like to know."

The look I shot her must have been close to exasperation, but I complied. "Our father is a doctor and he got a job offer here. Our mother didn't like Alaska that well anyway, so when we got the opportunity, we moved."

Mrs. Rowley shifted her attention to Alice, who, to my great amusement, repeated my story to the letter, only using her and Jasper's name instead of mine. I could not hide my grin when I saw Mrs. Rowley's startled expression. She did not press the matter, however. Was that some sort of unspoken rule in big schools like this?

A few students looked around at us, but we ignored them. When Mrs. Rowley called the class to attention to start her lesson, Alice took the chance — and her time — to scold me. Thoroughly.

"Seriously, Bella!" she hissed under her breath. "You are supposed to give it an effort. How will you and Edward hold on to this afternoon if you continue like this? Not to mention the fact that you are torturing me and Jasper as well."

I tried to explain how I could only handle my need for Edward by teasing Edward. If I let my desire for him wash over me, we would indeed give 'exposure' a whole new meaning. That last part I did not say out loud, though. She knew way too much as it was.

"And by the way," I continued, "I really cannot be blamed for _all_ of this. Or did you miss him walk into me just now?"

"Oh, I am on it," Alice assured me. She tapped her temple, "and in my thoughts I don't even have to take a breath between sentences."

I did not want to know what her mind was undoubtedly shouting at him at the top of her lungs.

Fourth period brought us to Chemistry. Edward was waiting for us at the door to the classroom. His angelic face filled with love as he saw me, his eyes brightened and his stance straightened a bit.

I walked past him through the door, forcing myself to not look into his eyes for too long. A very rare tinge of self-preservation, I should think.

Edward followed immediately behind me. It was as if every cell in my body reacted to his presence, reached out to him. I longed to lean backwards and feel his comforting features against my back, but I knew I had to resist it.

"Hi, love," he breathed softly in my ear. He was not teasing, nor trying to drive me crazy. His voice was just so filled with love that I turned and looked up at him.

My love for him washed over me with such force that I lowered my shield to share it with him. He smiled like a purring cat at that, reveling in the feeling. His eyes even closed for a moment as he let my thoughts evolve around him. Yes, we would be good to each other now.

This all happened in less than a second or two. Any humans that might have been watching would not have seen anything out of the ordinary.

Edward and I walked to the back of the class, sitting in front of Alice and Jasper. Alice was looking exceptionally pleased. Edward threw her a look that would have frightened a human to pieces. Alice's smile then sweetened just a little further. She must have been annoying the hell out of him during the previous class, I presumed. Jasper was gazing out of the window, arms crossed. I could imagine we were bothering him today.

When we were seated, Mark walked into the room. His disappointment was obvious as he saw that I already was sitting next to somebody. It turned to surprise as he saw _who_ I was sitting next to. He took the last free seat in the class: just in front of us.

The chemistry teacher was so absent-minded that I didn't think he even noticed there were four new faces in his class. He started to rattle on immediately where he'd left off the previous lesson, and he spoke in such a monotone that he could keep my attention for exactly three seconds before I let my mind wander.

Having learned from the first period, however, I let a fraction of my mind pay attention to the lesson. Another fraction was wondering about my siblings who were not in this class with me. A third part was wondering about the boy Mark, now sitting in front of me. A fourth part was keeping an eye on the annoying brunette, who turned out to be in this class too. The other ninety-nine percent of my mind was focused on Edward, and Edward alone.

The well-known electric current was vibrating between us. When the teacher, Mr. Williams, a balding man with thick glasses and a disconcertingly fat stomach, turned to write something on the whiteboard, Edward reached out under the table and took my left hand in his.

His fingers touched my wedding ring, twisting it around my finger. I closed my eyes in the pleasure that feeling brought me. It was the combination of the feeling on my skin, as well as the fact that he was subtly letting me know this way that I was his, and his alone. I reveled in the thought.

His slender fingers moved to the inside of my wrist, touching the very sensitive skin there. His velvet caress sent shivers down my spine.

I took a trembling breath. If I'd still have a heartbeat, it would have gone a mile a minute by now. There was something so intimate about his caress, it made me feel loved indeed.

I needed to break this contact if I wanted to keep my sanity.

Gently, I tugged my hand back. He didn't let go, however, so that his hand was now in my lap. Slowly, so slowly that nobody would see him move had they looked — and from the position his hand had on my leg, I seriously hoped indeed that nobody looked — Edward's hand started to travel up the inside of my thigh.

I went rigid at once, my chair scraped the floor with the force of my movement. He was not playing fair. He knew very well what he was doing to me right now. Edward's eyes were sparkling with mischief. I tried to push his hand away, but Edward had long since been stronger than me. I could not stop him without using a force that would certainly attract attention. "Edward," I warned him under my breath. "Don't."

His hand moved just a little further upwards.

Behind us, Alice groaned softly. "_Please_?" she finished my request. Edward did not look around, but I did. Alice was holding her head, eyes shut tightly. Pour soul.

Jasper took Edward out of it by aiming a pencil at his neck with uncanny precision — and force. The pencil broke on Edward's skin and fell to the ground in two pieces. Edward had to move to pick them up, getting his hand off my leg as he did so.

I looked around at Jasper and thanked him with my eyes. He just glared at me.

"I didn't do it for you," he spoke so fast that only we could hear it.

When Edward came back up, I shot him a dark look. He looked back at me with wide, innocent eyes. I shook my head disapprovingly, but I could not prevent a chuckle escaping.

We were a horrible, horrible couple.

I killed the rest of the lesson by deleting the twelve text messages Alice had sent me during first period. I didn't bother to read them, I knew what they would say. Then I started a game of chess on my phone, made the first move, and handed it to Edward.

He accepted it thankfully. Any distraction would suffice at this moment. By the time the bell rang, he'd beaten me five times.

* * *

_Hope you like the little winks I'm making to both books and movies. _

_I've realized way too late that of course in the Twilight series (at least in the movies), Bella makes a friend that works for the school paper. Consider this a coincidence, as that detail will be of no importance for the rest of my story._

_I never thought I would ask this, but please let me know how you think I'm doing, by review or private message. __I'm thinking that maybe I've given off the wrong vibe in the first chapters of my story. I certainly never meant it to become boring, but the rest of the story will have a more serious tone (besides the teasing :P ) _**  
**


	4. Temptation

**A/N Hi y'all. Thanks everyone for marking my story as your favorite and making me dance by giving reviews!**

**I've made the deadlines I mentioned in my previous A/N! *Proud***

**Anyway, as I live about 70 miles from work, I drive for 3 hours a day. This gives me a lot of time to think. As such I've had time to realize that the story was not going the way I wanted it to. So I deleted almost everything after 'lunch' and started again. I'm very happy now. I hope you enjoy reading it!**

**I don't own Twilight. Although Edward does visit me frequently in my dreams...  
**

* * *

The annoying brunette was staring at me as the four of us left the classroom together.

"I think you upset a drama queen," Edward accused, flashing a look at the girl. "What have you done this time?"

"Nothing that I'm aware of," I replied lightly. I should have known that she was about the most popular girl in school. Not that I cared.

The canteen was crowded with hundreds of students. I spotted Mark immediately, chatting happily with other students. So he _did_ have his own friends. He waved as he saw me, but I acted as if I didn't notice him.

I felt Jasper hesitate behind me as we reached the entrance. To be honest, such a large quantity of warm, pulsing people made me quite nervous too.

Edward noticed our reluctance immediately. He looked around at Alice.

"Nothing will happen," she assured us.

"Still, can we go outside?" I asked, swallowing compulsively. I cursed my instincts.

Ignoring the policy, Edward slid his arm around my waist comfortingly. "Yes, of course we can. Stop breathing for now," Edward whispered in my ear.

Just then, Jacob and Renesmee were entering the canteen through the opposite entrance. Edward waved and made sure they knew we were going outside. I saw Renesmee's big brown eyes fill with worry immediately, but I smiled to reassure her.

Once we'd gotten our coats and were outside, I took deep breaths of fresh winter air. "That were a _lot_ of people."

Edward's anxious eyes bored into mine. "Are you all right? Do you want to leave? I'm so sorry, have we started this too soon?"

I had to put my finger to his lips to stop him firing questions at me.

"I am just fine," I assured him. "Exceptional self-control, remember? I just needed some fresh air. Besides, crowds already made me nervous when I was still human."

Edward's worry did not subside. His earlier playfulness was gone, which I thought a shame. Although he had crossed a line in Chemistry, I loved it when he was not overthinking everything and was acting spontaneous.

Jacob and Renesmee appeared at our sides, both holding a tray of food.

"Can we sit down somewhere?" Jacob asked. "I'm hungry." His stomach growled as if on cue. We all laughed at that and headed to a picnic table.

"So, what do you think?" I asked Renesmee and Jacob excitedly when we were sitting down. I didn't want to talk about myself, my daughter was more important. Jacob couldn't speak with his full mouth, but Renesmee talked and talked. She'd taken my hand as I sat opposite of her and showed me her morning in detail while she spoke. She liked all her subjects, she liked her teachers, her classmates and her new study books. And she liked that fact that she could share it all with Jacob.

This time Edward and I were both glowing with insane pride at our daughter. Could this day get any better?

"And how is the thirst?" Edward then asked softly. "Can you control it?"

"Dad," Renesmee said very low so that no human would hear, "I could control it when I was weeks old, if I recall correctly." Was that really arrogance in her voice?

Alice and Jasper chuckled at Edward's stunned look.

"Don't blame me for caring," he huffed rather indignantly.

"That's not caring, that's fussing, Edward," Alice scolded, but she was smiling. It wasn't the first time that our family addressed the fact that sometimes Edward looked more like the overly careful mother than I did.

Jacob, in the meantime, had switched trays with Renesmee and started on his second meal.

"Hey, we forgot to get some lunch," I observed.

"Doesn't matter. Not that much people outside," Edward murmured. His shackles were still up, I noticed.

I figured we must be looking insane to be outside in these temperatures. Lucky we'd thought of bringing our coats. I walked around in silk dresses at home. It was such a bliss to never be cold. I did hope nobody here would notice that our breath did not come out in little puffs of white.

"So, what is everyone thinking?" Alice wondered.

"Nothing much. The usual gawks and sneers. They don't know what to make of us. The first guesses at plastic surgery have been made, apparently some people know that Carlisle's a doctor. Few students seem to know we're all together. Rosalie's beauty is getting attention of course, but Emmett is staring them down. The both of you get a lot of attention too," he nodded at Alice and Jasper. "And the girls are mooning over me," he then teased, shifting his gaze to me.

"You should pull them that trick you did to me in Chemistry," I mocked. "_Then_ they'd have something to moon over."

Even Jasper couldn't contain his snicker.

"And the boys have noticed Renesmee and you all right," Edward's tone was remarkably less pleasant now.

"The boys that notice Renesmee are mostly not mature enough to think anything harmful, but I really don't like how they regard you," he continued, frowning.

I made him meet my gaze, then gently cupped the side of his face with my hand. I tried to ignore the thrill I felt by finally feeling his skin against mine again.

"What are you afraid of, love?" I asked gently. "There is nobody but you, there will never be anybody but you. I'm pretty certain that I'm all but unbreakable," Jacob chuckled at that, "and I have a coven of nine to protect me. What has you worried?" I used the exact words he had used on me so long ago.

He didn't answer immediately, his look was pained.

Renesmee, ever perceptive Renesmee, started a loud, bubbling conversation with Jacob, Jasper and Alice. It was a ruse, of course, but sometimes just the idea of privacy was enough.

"I'm forced to watch you in their fantasies," he finally whispered hoarsely. His voice was so soft I doubted anyone but me could hear it, "and I don't like what they make me see."

I wanted to ease his worries, knowing that I couldn't. There was nothing I could say or do to protect him from this. I pulled him against me, wrapping my arms around him for comfort. He rested his head in the hollow of my neck and sighed.

"I could always shave off my hair, or wear thick glasses and braces," I suggested after a moment. He chuckled a little at that.

"Don't you ever consider that," Alice interrupted vilely. "There's no way I could find a dress to go with such blasphemy."

I just stuck out my tongue at her. She wasn't even supposed to be listening to this conversation.

But I wasn't done yet with Edward. "Your mood swings seem very violent today," I observed. I was whispering in his ear in what I hoped was my most comforting tone.

"It's a lot to take in," Edward confessed, his face still hidden in the hollow of my neck. "Strange how I could forget how… crowded it can be to be with so many humans."

I gently wound my fingers through his hair and I could feel a very low rumble vibrate in his chest.

"I can try to shield the whole school," I offered.

Again he chuckled softly. "Tempting, but no. Have to be on the lookout, remember?"

"I thought we had agreed that we were going to have as much fun as possible," I chided him softly. "Stop moping and ignore what others are thinking. You've done that before. Don't torture yourself like this. People will always think things, even when you can't hear them. Tune them out."

Edward just sighed.

Gah. He really was no fun like this. Where had the playful Edward gone? I looked around me. "Jasper, a little help here?" I pleaded. Waves of a relaxed contentment rolled over us almost immediately.

"It won't help," Edward warned, sitting up.

I looked around me quickly to assure that there were no teachers, then took his head in my hands and pressed my lips to his in a sweet kiss.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise and I could feel his lips curve against mine as he smiled, before he kissed me back in earnest.

"Hey look, Ness, a dragon!" Alice tried.

"Like I haven't seen them busy before," Ness murmured quietly. There was not a hint of resentment in her voice, fortunately. Just a wisdom that was frighteningly far ahead of her years.

I didn't put too much effort in analyzing what happened around me though, as I was rapidly getting lost in the sensation of Edward's lips against mine. His arms were around me now, holding me in a tight embrace. My hands knotted in his hair and I let myself fall in the depths of my desire, inhaling his incredible honey-and-lilac-and-sun scent.

When we finally let go, he smiled, and the smile reached his eyes.

I looked back at him, pleased. "This will." I nodded in contentment.

We met Emmett and Rosalie in the main hallway as our lunch ended and theirs began. Rosalie immediately wanted to know how everyone was holding up, and what we thought of the school. We quickly exchanged our experiences. As we talked, Renesmee shifted closer to Rosalie, so that their hands touched. I saw Rosalie smile at the blissful images she saw in her mind's eye.

"Hey Rose, why were you so pissed this morning?" Best to be straight about it. Rosalie didn't need any tact. She never used it herself, either.

"Stupid non-pda policy," she huffed. "Em and I got scolded in our first lesson. If we're seen touching each other again, we get detention."

"That strict, huh," I empathized. "Go sit outside then. Hardly any teachers there. Too cold for them," I chuckled.

"Will do, thanks," she said, already walking away.

And then we were on our way to homeroom. Renesmee and Jacob had Gym. Edward warned them once more to reign themselves in at all times. Renesmee rolled her eyes at me in a very Jacobish way and took off.

I didn't know yet in what way this school used homeroom. I was surprised to walk into a bubbly hubbub of a class. Some students were sitting on the tables, others had pulled by a chair. Cleary, this was not a silent study hour.

The four of us found seats in the back of the class. As was to be expected, the annoying brunette was in this class as well. She'd noticed us the moment we came walking in and starting talking abruptly to the girl who was sitting next to her. I couldn't help but listen in, and from the corner of my eye I could see that my siblings were paying attention as well.

"I don't know what to make of them," the brunette said. "That brown-haired girl is so annoying, she's a real knowitall."

"Yes, she really was ridiculous in Lit.," her friend agreed. "She didn't have the right to act in such a way, I mean, what does _she_ know?"

"That's what I mean!" the brunette shrieked.

I really had to fight the urge to cover my ears. Instead I moaned softly, which was rewarded by a chuckle from my left side. I kicked Edward's chair in return.

"But I want to know who the guy is that is sitting next to her," the brunette continued. "They seem to know each other, but I have not seen them speak once."

"I heard they were brothers and sisters," the blonde friend offered. "Maybe they're fighting or something."

It was fun to listen to others, I realized. Especially when they really had no idea.

Then the teacher entered the room, ending the brunette's conversation. He was a friendly looking young man, with bone-rimmed glasses that were quite fashionable. Alice sighed approvingly behind me.

The teacher called his class to attention. "We have four new faces in this class as of today," he started, then he looked at us. "I am Patrick O'Neil. Please do not 'mister' me, I am not that old yet. Just call me Patrick.

"I use this homeroom as a place to socialize. You can catch up on your friends or your homework here. And if anything is ever bothering you, please know that I am also the student councilor of this school. I have pledged an oath of secrecy. You can always come and talk to me." He kept quiet for a minute after that, obviously wanting his message to get through to us.

"Now, why don't you introduce yourselves?"

I looked at Edward, our spokesperson for all intents and purposes.

"Well," he started, but Mr. O'Neil — Patrick — interrupted him.

"No, no, stand up! You'll need presentation skills later in life, anyway."

I tried to hide my smile at that.

Edward stood up, shooting a perfect mock of exasperation at me. This time my grin escaped.

"Well," he repeated. "I'm Edward, I'm seventeen years old, and I moved here from Alaska." He sat down again, smirking. I could Alice barely holding it together behind me. What were they getting at?

The teacher turned to me, so I stood up as well. How many more times would I have to do this today?

"I'm Bella, I'm seventeen years old, and I moved here from Alaska."

"I'm Alice, I'm seventeen years old, and I moved here from Alaska."

"I'm Jasper, I'm seventeen years old, and I moved here from Alaska."

Some of our fellow students had the courage to laugh. Others were mainly looking annoyed, or bored.

Mr. O'Neil looked amused. "Just tell the class the whole story, please."

"Well, Mr. O'Neil — Patrick —, we are all adopted or fostered by Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his wife Esme. Carlisle got a job offer here, and Esme didn't like Alaska, so we moved," Edward explained in his patient-father-voice.

"And do you like it here?" Ah, the councilor was coming out already.

"Sure, sure," I replied without looking up. The grin Edward shot me was the widest I'd seen in a long time.

Mr. O'Neil didn't reply to my remark, but he raised his eyebrows at me. I had an inkling he was not going to let this go, but for now at least he didn't ask any further.

As the students were starting their own activities again, Edward and I turned around to Alice and Jasper. Now we could finally talk, without having to edit for Renesmee or Jacob.

"How are you holding up?" Edward asked me. The worry was back in his eyes.

"I'm f—"

"Don't say _fine_," he warned me. "I saw your panic at lunch." He took my hand in his under the table and squeezed it.

"But Edward, she is," Alice interrupted. "I've had not seen even a hint of something that could go wrong. At least, diet-wise," she added, irritated.

I touched my throat, which was just faintly feeling dry. "I can still swallow. Don't you worry. It's such a waste of time and energy." I smiled at the irony. Of course we had endless resources of both.

"One tip, though," Alice said softly. "You should blink more often. You're doing extraordinary well, Bella, but you tend to forget to blink. And as your eyes stand out so much, it'll be noticed sooner."

"Right," I nodded. "Blink. Breathe. Fidget." It was my well-known mantra. And my eyes did stand out. I'd hunted so much in preparation for school that my eyes were lighter than those of my siblings. The fun part about it was that now my skin felt warmer than Edward's too, something he was extremely pleased about. He said it brought back memories.

"Thank you all," I said. "We've been so anxious about this, and you have been so supportive. So, thank you for your patience. I must say that it's all much easier than I anticipated."

"Hey, that's what family is for!" Alice smiled, taking my other hand.

"Are you okay with this all?" Jasper suddenly asked. I looked at him in surprise.

"I mean, it's been seven years only…"

Yes, I _knew_ what he meant.

"Well, it does piss me off that you all seem to think that it was enough, considering the rest of you had _decades_ of bridal days." I tried to be sarcastic, but the hiss was real enough.

Jasper winced and then chuckled at the emotions he picked up from me.

"But if this is what makes the family happy, who am I to fight that?" I continued. "I do believe however that Edward is none too pleased," I teased.

"I'm not," he conceded easily. "But it's the best way considering we want to stay together."

Then he leaned in and pressed a sweet kiss on my lips, in a movement so fast that humans would not register it. His delicious scent lingered around me even stronger. I giggled like a true schoolgirl, but I could feel the delicious electric current starting to hum violently through my body immediately in anticipation. Alice looked at Edward warningly.

"Please, Edward. Those really are unnecessary risks."

Edward shrugged, and kissed me again. This time he even let the tip of his tongue press against my lower lip. I had to fight the rumble in my chest — a sound like that would surely draw attention. Instead I sighed deeply and I could feel an insanely happy smile plaster itself on my face. Now it was Edward's turn to chuckle.

Alice sighed and looked apologetically at her husband, who must pick up our changing emotions yet again. "I can't foresee him making such snap decisions." Then she looked some more daggers at us, but we didn't notice.

I was caught in Edward's gaze, and he in mine. I could see myself in the reflection of his eyes, which were getting darker steadily. The electric current between us was almost tangible. I knew we were at a dangerous game, but neither one of us had ever been able to snap out of it by ourselves.

Alice helped us out, however, by hitting the back of my head with a force I thought was way overdone, but I realized she just wanted to get back at me.

It helped though, because I blinked and the contact between Edward and I was broken. We both took deep, steadying breaths and I leaned my forehead against his shoulder briefly. Edward quickly but softly stroked my hair, once. This short moment of bodily contact gave me the comfort I needed. I didn't let it last too long, maybe a second. But it sort of charged my battery for resistance. We were only halfway through the day.

When I sat up we looked away from each other. This 'gazing thing' was not teasing. It was a mate-thing, or at least an Edward-and-I-thing, that we could neither stop nor prevent. It was a very dangerous trap to fall in when we were not alone.

The first time it had happened, it hadn't taken us long to explode and devour each other. We didn't mind it, and didn't think much of it. We soon realized however that it was something that just seemed to happen to us, whenever, wherever. We didn't try to fight it, because we couldn't fight it. We would get caught up in each other's gaze, and get 'stuck'. Just like Jasper and Alice could look at each other in a way that was more intimate than kissing, Edward and I could get caught in a gaze that forced us to act.

We had spoken about this to Carlisle, albeit hesitantly. Carlisle didn't know the phenomenon and although he could understand that we didn't mind it happening, he also saw the problems it could provide when we were not alone or able to leave. He'd research it — he took any opportunity to do research.

Our siblings had not known what to make of us in the beginning, as it could take us hours to 'build' this bond. We would stay frozen all the time, just looking at each other. If not distracted by something violent, we were not able to get out of it. And it didn't matter if we were in a room full of family or not.

I thought back to one of the first times it had happened with Emmett around. His jokes or booming laughter usually pulled us out of it, but this time Edward and I had been in too deep.

We had been sitting opposite each other in the living room, with the entire family present. We'd stared into each other's eyes with a force that was almost tangible. We didn't touch, we just looked, unmoving. I noticed his eyes getting perceptibly darker, and knew from the slight change in my own vision that mine were turning dark too.

"What are they doing?" Emmett had asked.

"Like it isn't obvious," Rosalie had huffed.

"Are they having one of their moments?" Emmett had asked again. He could not stand it that he didn't get it.

"Not quite," Jasper had grinned. He was at ease, for once not irritated by the emotions that were radiating from Edward and I.

"Then what?" Emmett had demanded, annoyed.

"You'll see," Alice chimed in.

Edward and I had still been frozen, but the electric current between us was building in force. I noticed my breathing had started to accelerate, as had Edward's. My siblings were silent now, watching us.

"Ah, yes, there they go," Alice had sighed after a few more minutes, "in three, two, one…"

At that exact moment, the tension became too much. Edward and I had left the house in a blur, running into the forest at top speed. I'd tried to keep my clothes intact as I removed them while running, but I wasn't sure. Then Edward had tackled me and claimed me as his wedded wife.

Reliving this memory cost me about two seconds.

I sighed and tried to guide my train of thought elsewhere. I was starting to think that this whole school idea really was insane, happy family or no. I had the rest of forever with Edward, but still I really could not see the point in waiting to be with him for even five minutes. It was frustrating, to say the least. Plus Edward's behavior was not helping. Although he was worried sick about my thirst issues, he seemed mighty confident in my other areas of self-control. I wanted to scold him for that, but I didn't want him to stay away from me either. Best to stay silent for now.

I rubbed my face as if to wipe away the tingles of anticipation from my skin.

Edward also tried to regain some composure and ran his hand through his hair in a very human gesture, and once again I was stunned by his beauty. The perfect line of his square jaw, his cheekbones, the flash of his golden eyes…

To distract myself, again, I started listening to the sounds around me. Maybe I could locate Renesmee's heartbeat, which would be improbable amongst a thousand other thrumming rhythms, but I could try. I focused on the sounds around me, and…

"Look at _that_," the brunette whispered, looking at the way Edward was trying to rearrange his hopeless coupe.

Not _that_ sounds, I whimpered in my thoughts, but for some reason I could not _not_ listen to her.

"I'd love to run my fingers through that hair," the brunette continued. Her friend nodded in agreement.

"I saw him first," the brunette warned.

"I know you did, he's all yours," her friend said in a way I could only describe as submissive.

"Wonder what was going on between him and his sister just now," the brunette mused. "I can't put my finger on it, but something's off with those people."

Well, she had that right. I looked up at Edward, and saw he chuckled at her remark.

"I'll find out," the brunette promised herself. "Hey, what do you think about the assignment for Literature?"

"Hmm, act human," Alice murmured behind us, interrupting my focus on the girl.

We all immediately became restless like any bored high school student. Sure enough, Mr. O'Neil then walked up to our tables, took a chair that he turned in one fluent movement, and straddled it. He rested his arms on the back of the chair. Was he really that nonchalant, or was it a careful façade?

We turned a little to face him.

"So, you're all adopted siblings?"

_I suppose that's one way to start a conversation_, I thought, shield lowered.

"Yes, we are," Alice said sweetly.

"I'm curious," the teacher started, "how do you get along? It must be crowded when you share a home of ten."

_Ah, we try to keep the walls whole, but windows tend to turn out fragile from time to time._

Edward's eyes flashed to me before he spoke. "It's not without difficulty."

I elbowed him in the ribs with a force that would have broken them if he were human. Edward blinked innocently at me.

Mr. O'Neil noticed my movement, but let it go.

"I've always been an only child," he confided. "It fascinates me to meet big families."

I'd read enough psychology books to see through his method immediately: reveal something personal, and your patient will start to talk as well. But we were not patients.

"We manage," Alice chimed. "We didn't choose our lives, but we are very happy to have landed with Carlisle and Esme. They really are the perfect parents."

_Yes, no curfews and stuff._

Edward struggled to keep his face composed.

"I'm happy for you," the teacher said. "I wanted to repeat what I said earlier. You can always come and talk to me. I've read your files and I know that you've all been through severe trauma. It can be hard to adjust to new environments. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to find me."

"We will," Alice said sweetly.

Alice, who had had a little too much fun in composing our pasts. I had felt very uncomfortable when she told me that I had lost my parents, Joe and Mary (yes, really) Whitlock in a car crash when I was six. My real parents were still very much alive and happy, thank the heavens.

Alice, Emmett, Edward and Renesmee Masen were blood relatives in our story, and they had been orphaned by a fire when they were toddlers. Renesmee had to be Edward's sister; they looked so much alike it was uncanny — unless you knew the real cause of course. My resemblance with Renesmee had been stronger when I was still human, but now it was only our mouths that were alike. And our eyes, but the color was so different humans would never notice it. And I could never play Edward's real sister. We'd have child services at our door within days, I should think.

Rosalie and Jasper Hale were foster kids, rescued from a violent home. Jasper's scars, faintly visible to humans, bore testament to that. Jacob Wolfe was a foster kid as well. After his mother had died his father could no longer take care of him.

Jake stood out from the rest of us, but he had come to terms with that. He'd also come to terms with the fact that 'forever' was his reality as long as he was with Renesmee and with us. He would be able to phase as long as there was a vampire threat. And with eight and a half of those around him, his future was quite secure.

Wolfe, Masen, Hale, and Whitlock… In the end we were all Cullens, and proudly so.

The teacher must have noticed I was distracted, because he directed his next words at me.

"It's a lot to take in on a first day, I know. You'll be settled in no time," he promised me.

I used my Alice-tactic on him: I smiled and nodded. It seemed to satisfy him, because he greeted us and went to another student who wanted his attention.

When Jasper pulled out his Calculus book, we followed suit. We still had a good fifteen minutes, might as well do some homework. I was actually kind of curious as to how much time it would take me in this new life.

"What about that guy Mark?" Edward asked me without looking up from his book.

I did look up at him. "I don't know. What about him? What does he think?"

"He doesn't know what to make of you," Edward answered. "He's dying to get to know you, but he doesn't understand why his instincts tell him to run. Fast."

I snickered. "He writes," I said. "And he's fun to talk with."

"I can imagine," Edward admitted. "His thoughts are very pure. He's genuinely interested in you."

Only I could hear the carefully hidden edge of jealousy in his voice.

"He'll tire of me soon enough," I soothed. "I just liked that he writes stories. I was curious."

This time Edward looked back at me. I could see clearly in his eyes that he was fighting the urge to ask me would I indeed please stop talking to the guy, and the wish to never interfere in my life in such a way again.

I frowned my disappointment, which made a cautious look come into his eyes immediately.

Behind us, Alice and Jasper where suddenly extremely focused on their homework.

"Will you please relax," I scolded him. "I cannot believe that you could ever be jealous again, Edward." Then I lowered my shield and showed him what I thought of Mark, followed by my thoughts of Edward, which usually occupied about ninety-five percent of my mind, when I wasn't thinking about Renesmee.

"I know," he replied to my thoughts. But he didn't lighten up.

I sighed, then slapped the back of his head. I didn't even care anymore who saw us. When he looked at me, surprised, I fired his own trick back at him and kissed him at high-speed.

He chuckled in spite of himself, and I kissed him again before his smile had faded, breathing out in his face deliberately.

"Bella," Jasper sighed.

"What?" I asked innocently, eyes like saucers. "_He_ started it!" I pointed my finger, leaning back so I could use an outstretched arm.

"No I didn't," Edward countered in the tone of a whining child, playing along, "_you_ started it, in Biology this morning, if memory serves me correctly, which it tends to do."

"Excuse me, Mr. Cullen, but whose fault was it that I had to get dressed twice, this morning?"

Hell, we were vampires. We could do anything — _everything_ — at top speed. It had been a fun experiment, though.

Edward smiled his crooked smile at the memory, and then he winked at me. It was a silly human flirtatious gesture, but it did something to me. A dull fire settled in the pit of my stomach. I was fiercely grateful to whatever higher power out there that I could no longer blush. Edward completely disarmed me with those little gestures.

"I'm going to talk to Carlisle tonight," Alice groaned. "You are ridiculous and dangerous. Maybe you _should_ stay out of school for a while longer."

I turned in my chair to look at her and Jasper, one eyebrow raised. "I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Purring-twenty-four-seven, or haven't you noticed we can _hear _you two going on all day long?"

Edward laughed so hard it was almost a bark. His 'coughing fit' wasn't even remotely believable. The sound was drowned out by the chatting students around us, fortunately.

We never really addressed each other's private lives like this, with the exception of course when we were in danger of exposure — in whatever meaning of the word, as I found out today. But although Alice and Jasper were quite apt at hiding it, if I concentrated on it, I could hear them growling very softly, very constantly. Jasper would take in the feelings he received from Alice, and he would send his love for her out in waves. In a way, it was easy for them, a constant warm and loving embrace.

Alice coughed to hide her embarrassment. Jasper looked out the window stoically.

_Hah_. _Maybe she'll get off our back now_, I thought hopefully as the bell rang.

* * *

_My traffic details tell me that you do read my story.. Then please tell me what you think and encourage me to continue writing! Virtual hugs and cookies for you if you review (nicely)!_


	5. Dana

**A/N I can see that my story is being read, which makes me happy. It makes me even happier if you post a review. It'll only take you two minutes, and you will make my day.**

**Thanks to navybrat4 for her help on my questions about American high schools.**

**I forgot to tell: next chapter, Edward and Bella will go to their new meadow. I'm sucking up my guts to post some serious lemon.. Encourage me! ;)  
**

* * *

Gym. Even with superpowers, it was a miserable course.

"Let's ditch," I whispered hopefully in Edward's ear.

"No. Not on our first day."

Drat.

Gym was inside, as it was too cold to go out in the field. To me, the air felt really warm, especially compared to Alaska, but I guess to humans it was freezing. I was losing my mark.

I contemplated this as I changed into my gym clothes; a grey shirt with the school logo and shorts that were too ridiculous to even describe. Alice frowned at the horror of it all.

"You have to take off your jewelry, you know." Ah, the annoying brunette. What _was_ her problem?

I looked at my hands. I didn't wear much today, although I had tons of jewelry at home. The only things I had on me at all times were Jacob's bracelet, now riddled with charms, and of course my engagement ring and wedding ring. And there was no way in hell that I would take these things off.

"I'm fine, thanks," I replied. Behind me, Alice rose from her bench with such speed that it didn't look very human.

"But it's school rules," the brunette pressed. "Are you intending to break them all?"

"It's healthy to make your own choices now and then," I said acidly. I had a feeling that she wasn't such an innocent girl herself.

Alice appeared beside me, her pixie face ridiculously happy. She was bouncing in anticipation.

"What's _your_ problem?" I asked, the venom not yet totally out of my voice.

"You'll see," Alice sang, undisturbed. She took my hand and pulled me into the gym room, leaving the brunette behind.

Edward sought me out immediately after we'd entered the gym. I looked at the net that was spanned at eyelevel across the court. I was wary right away, and Edward pressed his lips into a line so as not to burst out in laughter. Alice peeked over his shoulder at me and tried to put me at ease.

"You'll manage, Bella," she said in an assuring tone.

Although I could not exactly remember anything specific regarding badminton, I did remember it had something to do with pain and the fact that even the coach had thought it a better idea that I stood at the sideline, watching with my hands behind my back.

From the look on Edward's face, he could recall this memory with deadly precision, and I eyed him suspiciously.

Before I could make him clarify, the coach blew his whistle.

I had to resist the reflex to put my hands to my ears. The sound was so loud; it seemed to pierce through my ears.

I looked up at my siblings in surprise at this. Jasper's mouth twitched. He couldn't help it, but it seemed to satisfy him that at least at some things I was behaving like your typical newborn.

"You'll get used to it," Edward whispered so low that no human could hear. "You did good. We all had that urge in the beginning."

So he had seen my hands twitch before I could lock my muscles in place. But Edward was a strong man. He rarely laughed at me when I was startled by my new world. He was still waiting for the running and screaming, true, but at least he was on my side always. Well, almost always.

Coach Smith started talking when we had all lined up. He didn't bother to address us as new students, which suited me quite fine.

"Today will be spent with the last hour of badminton of this year. Badminton is a graceful sport, try to bring forth that grace in your play," he started, before he continued on a list of tips and rules he probably had given the previous lesson as well.

I coughed so as not to laugh out loud. Edward ducked his face so that his crooked smile would not be too obvious. Even Alice put her hand to her mouth to contain her snickers. I knew they too were thinking of my experience with badminton. As said, I didn't recall it in detail, but badminton, grace and yours truly could not have existed in the same universe at a certain point in time. That, I knew. I was horrified at what I could do with a racket now, considering I had superhero strength.

I bit my lower lip in concern, not knowing what I could do to bail out of this. Then Edward came up to me and kissed me again in a movement so swift I wasn't even sure what happened. When I looked up at him, he looked away carefully, running one hand through his copper hair. I smiled then, one corner of my mouth pulling up in what I realized must look a lot like Edward's patented crooked smile. Maybe this class could be fun, after all.

The coach had finished his introduction and got two students to hand out rackets and birdies. Everyone teamed up, and while Jasper and Alice had formed a pair, I was looking at Edward through the mazes of the net that separated us.

I eyed my racket warily, not sure how much damage I could inflict with it. Well, at least I couldn't harm _myself_ anymore.

Edward served first, with a grace that distracted me so much I almost forgot to hit the birdie back over the net. When I did, I used too much force, of course. When I did not see the birdie flow over the net, I froze. For half a second I was afraid that I had shot the birdie through a wall or something. Then Edward burst out in laughter as he saw the look on my face, now eying the birdie that was stuck in my racket.

I glared at him, then back at the birdie, as if the poor thing could help anything. Well, at least this was a slip-up that could be considered human. The coach had noticed Edward's laughter (I think the students outside the building had noticed it too) and was coming to check on us. He smiled when he saw the birdie stuck in my racket.

"It's okay," he assured me, "those rackets need replacement. I'll get you a new one." And with that, he walked away to the storage room.

When he came back, we exchanged the rackets. "I know you are new here," he continued, nodding at the four of us. "But a first day like this must be hard enough on you, so I thought it best not to put you into the spotlight."

I raised my eyebrows a little at his sympathy. "That's very generous of you," I answered him. "It's a lot to take in, on a first day."

"I can imagine that. You can help each other out, I'm sure," he said. "There's eight of you, right? So, which one of you is Edward?"

"I am," Edward answered. "That are Alice and Jasper and this is Bella." The way Edward looked at me when he said my name was ridiculous. I thought that we were keeping a low profile? "Renesmee and Jacob are a year lower and Rosalie and Emmett are seniors. But we're not advertizing the fact that we're a big family," he continued with genuine vampire-charm.

"Understandable," the coach said. "Well, I wanted to ask you if you needed any help with this sport, but you seem to get along well. Now, play." He walked away without another word. I liked the man. He reminded me of Charlie.

None of the other students seemed to have paid attention to our conversation with the coach. As Jasper served the birdie again to Alice, I tried my first shot with my new racket. Controlling my force carefully, I got it over the net in a very acceptable, human speed.

Edward smiled approvingly, and shot the birdie back at me.

As we progressed, we got bolder. Edward soon started to fire the birdie at me with uncanny precision, aiming for any body part. I was a quick learner and soon knew how to dodge his shots, while I fired back with as much force and precision as he. When I looked at Alice and Jasper, I saw that they were doing exactly the same, albeit with a lot more speed and strength. It was a funny sight to see, as Alice knew of course where Jasper would aim his next shot, while he was able to dodge hers without even looking at the birdie.

By the end of the hour I was very surprised to realize that I no longer hated Gym. I grinned at the thought.

As I turned to hand in my racket, I also turned my back on Edward. I registered a faint wooshing noise, realizing too late what was happening. As the birdie hit my behind, it was never hard enough to register any pain, but I shrieked out in surprise anyway. Had I been human, I would have gotten a nice purple bruise out of that. Turning around, I saw Edward's evil grin as he made haste to be out of my reach before I could take revenge on him.

"Oh, that is just not right," I heard whisper behind me as I bent to pick up the birdie. "Are they really supposed to be brother and sister?"

The rustling of cloth I could hear as an answer made me guess that the friend of my beloved annoying brunette had shrugged.

Keeping a low profile, indeed.

I was happy to be able to get out of the ridiculous shorts again once we where in the locker rooms. I told Alice this, and just about made her day.

"My Bella is developing a sense for fashion," she sighed exaggeratedly, pressing her hands to her heart and fluttering her eyelids like a movie star receiving an Oscar. Then her nature took charge. "Let's go shopping this Saturday!"

"No."

"Oh, you are just no fun," she pouted with a frown so fierce it would have scared a human. "Whatever Edward sees in you is a mystery to me."

I didn't take her bait.

Edward and Jasper were waiting for us outside the changing rooms. Edward's face lightened up when he saw me, and Alice and Jasper looked into each other's eyes for an immeasurable moment. What they shared was more intimate than any kiss could ever get. It was weird to realize it would always be like this — the intensity of the feelings for our mates would never wear down. I'd once joked that I'd brought my hormones with me to this life, but it was the same for everyone. I considered myself extremely lucky to have found Edward in time, and to have him still after my change. I'd not been a typical newborn, and I'd never been sorry. Although I sometimes wryly thought that it might have been easier to have my thirst as a first priority, instead of my desire for Edward. Thirst would have been easier to fight, maybe.

Edward and I held hands for a few stolen seconds. I knew he was on the lookout, so as long as I felt his slightly colder hand against mine, I was not going to be the one to let go.

My next class I would have with Jasper alone, and Edward would be with Alice. Although Edward had insisted that we'd take all our classes together, I had refused this for two reasons. The first would be that we just didn't share all our interests, and with his umpteenth time going through high school, he should choose his own personal favorite subjects. The second reason was, and he agreed with me on this, that I thought it might be easier to get through the day if we were not forced to sit next to each other while not being allowed touch. The compromise was that I at least would never be on my own in any class.

So I had History coming up, which I thought would be fun guaranteed with veteran Jasper by my side, and Alice and Edward were off to Physics. I hoped she would be nice to him.

I looked at Edward as he turned to walk away from me without a goodbye kiss. This was a struggle. I mouthed the words 'I love you,' at him, and he nodded in agreement at that before he fully turned and walked away stiffly. Alice was chatting away happily, probably to distract him a little, or just because she was Alice, after all.

And so I got to spend the next hour with Jasper alone. We got along easily. He was often tense in public places, because of the assault of emotions he'd experience, but at home he was fun to be with. He tended to hover where the atmosphere was inviting for him. As such he was drawn to hover around Edward and I at times, before he would kidnap Alice and let some of the soaked up emotions pour out of him again.

As usual, we found ourselves a seat at the back of the class. I pulled out my books and wrote 'History' on the front of my brand new notebook in curly letters. When I'd become a vampire, everything had enhanced, so now I could write something down and be able to actually _read_ it afterwards. I considered it another miracle, but I was careful never to mention that. Only Edward knew how horrible my handwriting had been, and only faintly, as I had been meticulous in keeping it out of his sight.

When I sat back, waiting for the teacher, I noticed how Jasper had picked up a pen and he was turning and twisting it between his slim fingers. He had mastered the concept of 'fidgeting' into perfection. I looked at the pen in his hands and chuckled.

"What?" Jasper asked, feeling my humor as well as seeing it.

"I was just thinking about when I was learning how to fidget," I replied softly.

Jasper knew immediately which memory I was talking about. I had tried to learn to play with a pen, but it had taken me a while before I could keep my power in check. As such, pens tended to break between my fingers, spilling their ink on my skin. My family had refused to give me pencils to practice with, claiming that the ink was a nice incentive to get it right sooner.

It had taken days for the blue ink to wear off.

But I had it right now. I could play with a pen without breaking it, I could stroke the side of a soap bubble without making it pop. And I could fell a tree with one push if I were so inclined.

"Yes," Jasper mused. "It took a week or so, right? For the ink to get off your skin?"

"Yes, because Emmett thought it hilarious to give me pens with permanent ink."

Jasper laughed aloud at that. "Oh Bella, you're such a bad liar that you'll believe anyone who tries it at you."

"Emmett is a good liar," I countered, one eyebrow raised.

"Let me tell you something," Jasper started conspiratorially, raking his hand through his messy blonde curls.

"Oh, goodie, war tactics!" I exclaimed in a whisper, rubbing my hands together in anticipation.

Jasper rolled his eyes, but laughed. "You can see through Emmett's vampire charm, yes?"

"Mostly. It's like what Edward can do to me, only Emmett doesn't dazzle me when he uses it. I think it's funny though."

"That's because you're not human. But you can see through it. Now, have you ever noticed that Emmett knows how to use his human charm?"

I thought about that, shifting through hazy memories of when I was still human. What had I been susceptible to? Then something occurred to me. "His smile, right? His dimples? He can make any girl giggle."

"Exactly," Jasper nodded, pleased that I got it. "You should consider yourself warned when he's using both 'charms' at once. But you never got that from me," he added, one eyebrow raised in warning. Usually he and Emmett teamed up against Edward, and as I was team Edward by marriage, I was carefully ignored when it came to battling tactics.

But this little revelation could save me a lot of trouble, and teasing, from Emmett indeed. Why had I never thought of that? I could see through all of my family members, except Emmett. Maybe it was because he used human traits and I was still so new to this life. I was susceptible to human traits, still.

The teacher came in, with Mark at his heels. Mark spotted Jasper and me, and quickly went to sit before us. His friend, a black haired boy I had seen him sitting with at lunch, followed suit.

Mark turned quickly around to us before the teacher began his lesson.

"Hey, Jasper, Bella," he greeted with forced nonchalance. "This is James," he nodded at his friend.

I must have flinched too obviously, because Jasper placed his hand on my arm to soothe me immediately.

"Is something wrong?" Mark asked, concerned. The boy James was looking at me with an expressionless face.

"Nothing," I said, frowning. "It's a name from my past, is all." Surely Mark must have heard some gossip by now about our past?

He continued to look at me, but then the teacher called out "faces forward," and commenced the lesson. He introduced us to the class by mentioning our first names and then referred to himself as Mr. Robbins. If we had any questions, we should ask them. Then he started his lesson, about King Henry VIII of England and his six wives.

"Did you just say that Edward dazzles you?" Jasper asked suddenly, in a normal, albeit very soft, whisper. I doubted that Mark and James in front of us could hear it. And I guessed that Jasper took his time to talk at human speed for exactly that reason — to pass the time.

"Frequently," I admitted. "Why?"

"Well, when he first met you, he told us he didn't know what to make of you," Jasper started, amused.

"Yes, I'm aware of that," I snapped.

"No, no, not in that way," he interrupted. "But as he was trying desperately to show you his real character, you showed almost every emotion but fear. He thought he was losing his mark, which he was, in a way. But I'm surprised to hear that you still have the same reaction to him. It's not like you're his prey anymore," he finished in a voice so low even I had trouble hearing it.

My expression must have been close to shock.

"Have you talked to Carlisle about this?" he continued.

"No," I said. "It never occurred to me, nor to Edward I think. We did talk about our bonding thing. Maybe that could have something to do with it."

"It might," Jasper agreed. "And you should talk to Carlisle. I still don't understand your bonding, though. Seriously, the feelings you both radiate then… I can almost taste them as they roll off you in waves."

I chuckled and if I could still have blushed, I would have. "But you and Alice have your own special form of intimacy," I countered, "as do Carlisle and Esme. And Emmett and Rose, in their way."

"No, not them," Jasper chuckled. "Em and Rose just fight and make up. I hear that's very human."

"You should tell Rose that," I joked. "She'll be pleased as punch to hear that she has one human trait, at least."

Jasper's mouth twitched as he tried to hold back a smile, but his eyes betrayed him.

"All right," the teacher continued after he had finished his introduction on the theory, which I had been listening to in the back of my mind. I didn't make the same mistake twice easily. "Team up, groups of four, and think of ways as to how Anne Boleyn could have prevented her execution."

Instant rumor buzzed through the classroom. Mark and James turned around to us, Mark with an eager look on his face.

I wanted to tease him.

"So, fantasy?" I asked.

He was so surprised at my question that he started to stammer, which caused James to laugh out loud. The boy James did not look like the James I knew in any way. Good.

When he caught me looking at him, he held out his hand. "Call me Jimmy," he said as I shook his hand with meticulous care. "Mark thinks that 'James' sounds sophisticated, but I think it sounds arrogant."

Well, as long as the name 'James' would no longer be used, I didn't care how it sounded. Jimmy didn't seem to notice the fact that my hands were cold. But as I did feel warmer than my siblings due to my excess hunting, maybe my hands weren't so cold to humans.

Mark looked at the easy way in which Jimmy and I had shaken hands, and I recalled this morning, when I had tactfully refused his offer. Was that only a few hours ago? Seemed like a lifetime. Time became a very funny concept once you had forever.

"So, Anne Boleyn," Mark tried to start the assignment. Again, my question about his writing was not answered.

"Yes," Jimmy said, businesslike. For some reason I could tell that these were studious boys, intelligent. I wanted to ask them if they did their homework together, and the question blurted out before I could stop myself. I cursed under my breath. Stupid vampiric curiosity!

"Uh, yeah, sometimes," Jimmy answered, startled. Then his eyes went very wide and he started to stammer, "but we're just friends! We're not, um, I mean, I've had girlfriends, and…"

Wait, what?

From the corner of my eye I saw Jasper's body shaking with suppressed laughter. He must have felt their embarrassment.

It took me a second or two to figure out what Jimmy was saying. Then I laughed as well.

"I'm sorry," I said, smiling at the frozen kids in front of me. "I never meant to imply such a thing. Let's get this assignment on the road," I continued, giving them the opportunity to focus on something else.

"Yes," Mark said softly. He cleared his throat. "Well, I don't think Anne Boleyn could have prevented her execution."

"I agree," Jimmy said. "Henry VIII was an evil king and he believed it her fault that she couldn't conceive."

"But she _did_ have a healthy baby girl," Mark continued. "As did Catherine, of course."

I sat back as I watched Mark and Jimmy discuss. They knew their facts.

"She was too ambitious," Jasper suddenly said. "Even if she had had a dozen sons, she still caused England to turn its back to Rome. She pried him away from his one and only wife. She's known to have killed to get her position. Henry would have tired of her."

"Maybe," Jimmy said thoughtfully. "But I always thought he only became a tyrant after he got rid of Anne of Cleves?"

"No, he became a tyrant because of Anne Boleyn. She taught him that he could do as he pleased. It was her main argument for him to leave Catherine in the first place," I replied. "She must have been one hell of a manipulator, though. She wasn't that pretty."

"I must say I did like Nathalie Dormer as Anne in The Tudors," Mark mused.

I let out a laugh at that. "I must say that I would not have said 'no' to a Jonathan Rhys Meyer either," I countered, shooting a warning look at Jasper to never, _ever_ tell Edward this, "but Anne Boleyn was known to be plain, to say the least. Dark hair, dark eyes, hardly the ideal for that time."

"But was it all her own ambition?" Jimmy asked. "Did not her father and uncle put her in his way?"

"She fought her uncle once she was queen, thus losing his support," Jasper said.

"Plus even before she knew Henry her ambition was dangerous. She married Henry Percy in secret, didn't she?" I asked rhetorically.

In the end we concluded that nothing could have prevented Anne Boleyn's undoing. The things she could have done to prevent it were so intertwined with other parts of her life that it would have been a miracle had she survived. And then she would probably have been assassinated by the common people.

The teacher complimented us mightily on the quality of our work, but Jasper and I shrugged it off, giving Mark and Jimmy all the credit. With the amount of time we had on our hands, it was not really special that we knew pretty much about… pretty much.

Jasper and I found our mates waiting for us at our lockers for the afternoon break. I was quite pleased to find out that I could seek out Edward's scent even among hundreds of students. I wasn't even really bothered by so many warm, pulsing bodies around me.

I saw him from the end of the hallway, amber eyes boring into mine. His unruly copper hair stood out in every direction as usual, defining the perfect contours of his face. He stood nonchalantly, hands the pocket of his dark hooded sweater. He was, in one word, delicious.

As I could not act the way I wanted to, I lowered my shield and showed Edward how I would run down the hall, into his arms, pressing kisses all over his face.

Edward's face lit up as my thoughts flowed into his head, and that alone was worth the struggle. Then, as we walked down the hallway at human speed, I kept my shield lowered, returning to my little game from Biology this morning to distract myself.

_Oh, there's that guy from Biology. I didn't know he'd be so tall! Oh, look at him, that's quite the perfect length. He must be toned. Swoon._

Edward pressed his lips together in an effort not to laugh. Alice was looking up at him, with a questioning look in her eyes. Then she followed his gaze and found me, with an all too innocent look on my face. She shook her head, laughing, before she locked gazes with Jasper, who was walking beside me.

_I wonder if I would have to tiptoe to kiss him. Oh, to kiss him… Hmmm…_

Edward smiled his crooked smile, then licked his lips suggestively with a sparkle in his eyes. A rush of desire flowed through my body, but I had to laugh at Edward's behavior. My smile broke my concentration and my shield snapped back up.

We were still about thirty feet apart, and I had to stop myself from closing that distance in the fraction of a second. I walked slowly, deliberately, concentrating on acting human, avoiding dozens of students that were standing or walking around us. Jasper was a world away, gaze locked with Alice.

I didn't see her coming. Edward neither, I guessed, as he was focused on me. We kept blinking deliberately, to prevent a bond from building, but that was about all the attention we had for the world that was not 'us'.

In retrospect, I think I my have heard Alice gasp just before it happened.

The annoying brunette — maybe I should try to find out her name — walked past Edward, and tripped. Against Edward. She let herself fall so that the length body lined up with his. And there was nothing that he could do but to catch her, so that she was in his arms. She pressed her body against his, and even from where I stood, I could hear Edward's teeth snap together over the buzz of the talking students.

Holy hell, the girl had guts.

Edward put her to her feet immediately, getting distance between his body and hers.

He had been so surprised by her actions that his eyes only now were starting to turn black.

_Your eyes, watch your temper!_ I mentally shouted at him in a surge of common sense. _Edward, she's bound to see, lighten up!_

Edward looked at me over the brunette's shoulder. The shock, the guilt in his eyes broke my heart. This was_ not _his fault. His eyes did turn lighter again as he composed himself, thank the heavens. Slip-ups like these were especially hard to cover.

So little time had passed that only now did he take his hands off the girl in his human speed.

"Ooh, I'm so sorry," she cooed. "Did I hurt you?"

I tried to swallow my growl.

Jasper had finally come out of his trance and he gripped my arm forcefully enough to register pain. I relaxed immediately however, which prevented my growl from escaping. Somewhere in the back of my mind I found it the most peculiar feeling to be utmost at ease while my anger was still roaring, biding its time to be let out again.

"No, you didn't," Edward replied. I could hear his struggle to keep his voice normal.

I saw Alice's lips move ever so slightly. I could not hear her over the buzz of the student body, but I knew she was talking to Edward in rapid speed.

"Are you all right?" Edward then asked the girl.

"Yes, thanks to you," she purred.

Even Jaspers vice-like grip on me could not prevent my sharp intake of breath. The shift of colors in my vision told me that this time, _my_ eyes were turning black at a rapid pace.

Jasper tugged my arm and with his other hand forced me to look at him. The pleading look in his eyes calmed me down more than the waves of relaxation he was sending through me. I closed my eyes and nodded. She was not worth this. Definitely.

Assured, Jasper let go of me and we started walking again. It happened all so fast that nobody even noticed.

"I'm Dana," the brunette said. "You're new here, right? What was your name again?"

"Edward," he answered. "This is my sister, Alice."

Even Alice could not keep up her happiness as she greeted the girl, and that meant something.

"And there are Jasper and Bella," Alice pointed as we finally had reached the end of the hallway. Edward and I exchanged a gaze that held an entire conversation. It physically hurt me that I could not close the little distance between us now, to feel his arms around me and to put mine around him in reassurance.

"Hi everyone," the brunette said, but she looked at Edward only when she held out her hand for him to shake it.

"Dana, are you sure you were not hurt?" Alice interrupted her, smoothly preventing skin contact to happen between Edward and the girl. Alice was so perceptive, you had to love her.

"I'm fine," Dana reassured Alice, with a sharp edge to her voice.

Behind me, I could hear the voice calling that I identified as her friend's. "Dana, there you are!"

"I am indeed," she replied smugly. "I tripped, but Edward here saved me from getting hurt."

I did not need to ask Edward what fantasies of hurting her were forcing their way into his mind right now. I saw Alice flinch at his subconscious intentions, and that was bad enough.

"Oh, you are the new guy," Dana's friend said, clearly shy with my husband. "I'm Jodi," she then said softly. "You're Edward, right? And you are Alice and Jasper, and Bella?" she continued, turning around. "I hope you like it here," she added sweetly to all of us. Her blonde hair fell over her shoulders in a waterfall of silk. Her clothing looked like Dana's, short skirt and tight top in bright colors. High-heeled boots and a big bracelet as finishing touch. Her appearance did not match her personality.

I was baffled at this girl's sincerity. It just radiated off her, but before I could answer her, Dana cut her of viciously.

"That's very nice, Jodi, I'm sure they'll feel _very_ welcome now. Did you not have somewhere to go?"

Jodi took her cue, and retreated silently, not even greeting us. A few feet away I saw a group of about five curious looking girls looking over at us. Their clothing was similar to Dana and Jodi's, and when Jodi reached them, they trailed off together.

_Oh dear Lord, they come in herds_.

My anger flared up again however. The girl Dana had guts, indeed, to act like that. My siblings were stunned as well, as far as I could tell.

"So, Edward," Dana turned to face him again, looking up at him. "Do you need any help getting acquainted here?"

"I think I'll manage," he replied with a light frown, eyes hard. Why did the girl not just run? Fast?

Then I heard Renesmee's dancing footsteps approaching us, followed by Jacob's light footing.

Non-pda or not, I _had_ to hug her, and so I did, as friend-like as I could. I resisted the urge to hide my face in her copper hair and inhale my daughter's perfect perfume.

Her eyes were sparkling, and I wanted to laugh out loud just to see her so happy. She was the perfect distraction.

Edward was looking over Dana's shoulder at his daughter as well, eyes melting with love.

From the way Dana held her shoulders, I could see that this annoyed her. Good.

"How are you?" I asked Renesmee, briefly touching her hand to get some images.

"You wouldn't believe it," she breathed excitedly. "I've made two friends already and they've asked me to go to the mall with them after school. Can I go?"

Jasper raised one eyebrow in warning, but Renesmee realized her small slip-up immediately.

"Well," I hedged, looking to see what Edward would think. He frowned a little, letting us know that he wasn't sure. Then I looked at Alice, and she didn't do anything, which meant she didn't disapprove as far as she could tell. But I had faith in my girl and besides, she really needed to spend some time with people that were not her kin.

"You should ask mom," I suggested meaningfully, "but I'm sure she'll let you go. Make sure you get home before dinner though, you know how she gets when she's kept waiting."

I thought I solved that pretty well. I told her she could go and I set a time I wanted her home. Jacob was looking unhappy, however. Well, he'd have to get used to the fact that he'd have to miss Renesmee sometimes for a couple of hours. Imprint or no. If Edward and I could manage to miss our girl for entire weekends when Jake took her to La Push, he'd get over one afternoon.

"Yay!" Ness squealed, clapping her hands, Alice-like, and I had the immense pleasure of seeing Dana wince at the sound. She recovered quickly, though.

"Wait, are you part of the Cullen family, too?"

Ness's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Why, yes, I'm Edwards sister, surely you can see that?" she bubbled, and then she darted over to Edward and hugged him playfully, pressing her cheek against his to show their faces side by side. What a wonderful excuse to get to hug her father. She was so creative!

I hoped that Edward's fatherly pride was not as obvious to Dana as it was to us.

"You could be twins!" Dana exclaimed.

"She's a year younger," Edward said. "But it's true, we look alike. More than Alice and I do, and we _are_ twins."

Come to think of it, it wasn't even remotely believable. But who cared? I'd never questioned the family ties that the Cullens had claimed when they were still at Forks High. Then again, I'd never been your typical girl.

"You'd never say," Dana cooed, oblivious. "And who his he?" she continued, eyeing Jake's impossible body suspiciously.

Jacob couldn't answer as he was eating, of course. Must be hard for him to be only able to eat at set times. He often even got up during the night to get himself some bread rolls, his hunger having woken him.

"That's Jacob. He's our little foster brother," I said, earning a glare from him. I smiled back sweetly.

I did not need to read minds to know that Dana was thinking words along the line of 'anabolic steroids.'

"Hi," Dana said, but she was facing Edward again already.

I was dearly tempted to use Dana's own words against her and to ask her had she not somewhere to go, but Alice touched my arm and shook her head minutely to prevent that. I knew why, we had to be nice to the other students, to fit in. I was prepared to make an exception for girls named Dana, though.

"So, Edward," Dana purred as she scooted closer to him, causing him to lean backwards against the lockers — once again, I felt Jasper's hand on my arm to calm me as a precaution — "what are you doing today after school?"

"I'm going home after school," he replied curtly. "Lots of homework after a first day like this."

"Would you like some help? Where do you live?"

"Out of town, and no thanks, I'm fine. My siblings can help me."

Never would I be more grateful for the buzz of the bell, sending us to our next class.

And with that, Edward turned to go to our next class, without even waiting for us. We left Dana standing at our lockers, a little confused that he had not reacted to her flirting.

Renesmee took my hand as we were walking, demanding to know in panicking images what was wrong, why were we so upset and daddy especially?

"Nothing is wrong, Renesmee. That girl is just a little irritating, and we don't know yet what we have to do to make her run and scream," I joked, trying to make light of it.

"I'd gladly help with that," Jacob rumbled lowly on my other side. "That girl is making the hairs of my neck stand on end."

"Keep your council, Jake," I soothed him. "She just likes to play tricks, I guess. But don't you worry. We can take care of each other, right?"

Renesmee was not even remotely calmed down, but she had to go to her next class or risk being late. I checked the almost empty hallway for teachers and then pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Don't you worry," I repeated, hiding my own distress as well as I could. "After all, what can a human girl do?"

Renesmee sighed, and let Jacob tug her to Algebra.

On our way to Spanish, which we took all four, I asked Alice where Rosalie and Emmett had been during break.

Alice tried to keep her face composed and kept looking forward as she replied that they were 'otherwise involved.'

I didn't press the matter.

Edward rarely swears. Or at least, consciously. So when I heard him hiss a low oath as we were opening our books for Spanish, I looked up at him in surprise, before I followed his gaze towards the door.

Dana was walking in, of course. Her friend Jodi was with her. Two other girls I recognized from her pack trailed behind her.

Even Alice, who sat in front of us with Jasper, made an annoyed sound.

It was my turn to groan when Dana sat down at the table to the right of me, with Jodi.

Well, at least I would be sitting between her and Edward.

We'd enrolled in Spanish for fun, but it seemed that we maybe should try to find another complimentary class to attend, just to get away from Dana.

The good news was that this was our second to last period for today. Edward and I had taken our motorcycles to school this morning. That had been an excellent idea, I thought now, because with bikes we could get closer to our meadow. The first part of the route to the meadow was human-ridden, so we would not be able to run through there. A bike could get us further up that track than cars, far enough away from civilization, so we could continue on foot from that point.

I explained this all to Edward with a lowered shield. He nodded once, his eyes getting brighter again now. I continued to muse, with lowered shield, that it was kind of excellent as well that Renesmee would be gone the afternoon. We wouldn't have to miss anything with our daughter this way. Hmmm.

Edward bit his lower lip unconsciously in anticipation, and another wave of love forcefully washed over me.

Alice looked around at us, but didn't say anything. As well as we could hear and see, we could also smell _everything_. But as a form of discretion we never mentioned this. It was a strict unspoken rule even Emmett didn't break. Often.

The teacher introduced herself to us as Mrs. Gonzalez. She was a bright woman, her big brown eyes radiated compassion and enthusiasm. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun, and she wore a tunic with bright flowers on it. I liked this woman immediately.

Mrs. Gonzalez thought it best to just let us get along, and she would check how we were doing later. "Open your books on page eighty, and please discuss your Christmas plans in Spanish."

Christmas plans? I grabbed Edward's wrist — any excuse to touch him — and checked the date on his watch. Wow, was it really the first week of December already?

Edward and I looked at each other. We hadn't really discussed Christmas yet. Alice was all for an epic party, of course. I could tell she and Jasper were making an effort to ignore the events during break as they turned towards our table and began discussing — in Spanish — what we would do.

It was my secret pride that I was as fluent as Edward now. He'd been a very… persuasive teacher.

"We should have a party," Alice stated. "We can invite the Denali's as well."

"Actually, I was thinking on taking Bella—"

Alice interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. "Don't you _love_ me, Edward?"

Oho, what was he planning?

"But I mean, his body was _rock hard_," I heard someone whisper behind me then. Dana, of course. I shut my mouth to listen and saw that my kin was listening too, while continuing their conversation a little.

"He must work out then. Too bad he's wearing such a big sweater right now, you can't really tell if he's toned." That would be Jodi.

"Jodi, have you not _looked_ at him? He's the very image of perfection!"

Edward raised his eyebrows at that. I'd told him the exact same thing just yesterday.

"His eyes are pretty," Jodi whispered shyly, so softly that I doubted that Dana had heard her.

"He's not very sociable though," Dana rambled on. "I guess that's because that wench of a sister won't let him."

"Which one?"

"What?"

"Which sister?"

"The annoying one. Not the pixie or that one with the horrible name."

I was now pressing my lips together to hold back my laughter. Edward was pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

"Does she have a creative imagination?" I asked emphatically, guessing she was too close to block out.

"No. But she's a…visual person."

Poor Edward. But at least Alice was spared, this time.

"So, how are you doing?" Mrs. Gonzalez interrupted us, talking in Spanish. She eyed Edward a little too intently, a little too long. I raised an eyebrow at her, but she didn't notice.

"_Muy bien_," Alice replied. "We thought it was an excellent idea to discuss our Christmas plans, because we hadn't really thought about it yet." A Spanish person would have been jealous of her accent. "What with the moving and all," she added.

How _did_ she _do_ that? Although she didn't know anything about her human life, Alice must have been one hell of a social genius. How could you not love her?

"I should ask him for the Christmas party," I heard Dana whisper behind me. "Soon, so I'm the first. I can cancel Dennis easily. I've seen him checking out Laura, he can have her. Although I cannot see what he sees in her. I'm prettier, right?"

"Of course you are," Jodi replied immediately, and way too quickly. "I mean, look at you!"

"Yes, I am prettier. And prettier than his annoying sister. Not that it matters. I'll ask him tomorrow. But I'd rather do it when _she_'s not around."

_Too bad_, I thought with lowered shield. _I'll kind of always be around._ Edward squeezed my hand under the table at that. Mrs. Gonzalez was chatting happily away with Alice, Edward and Jasper. I was listening to both conversations, still dazed about the fact that I _could_.

"I could distract her," Jodi offered hesitantly. "You know, get her away so you can have him for yourself."

"That's not half bad," Dana mused. "I really don't understand the way they look at each other. I saw them glaring at each other this morning, but then in Gym I swear he shot the birdie on her ass. That's not what a brother would do, right? Oh, wait, Gonzalez is coming, where's my dictionary?"

The teacher ended their conversation effectively, by asking them in Spanish how they were doing.

This time my kin and I did not even try to hide the fact that we were listening in.

* * *

_Show me some love! Click the review button. You can do it. You know you can._


	6. The new meadow

**A/N I don't own Twilight. **

_Hello, my readers. Thanks again for showing your faith in me by putting this on story alert or even take the effort to review. You make my day. You really do.  
_

_This chapter has been finished for ages, but I didn't have the guts to post it. It contains lemon and I'm not sure how far I want to go with that (e.g. graphic vs purple, I suppose). _

_I've been a little stuck with the rest of my story. Maybe it's because I dislike Dana so much myself I don't know how to write her down ;)_

_I let my characters socialize a lot with each other during classes. It's the only way for them to make time pass. Don't worry, they are paying attention to the class, but it's hardly worth writing down what the teacher says. I'm more interested in the interactions between the Cullens. They are flaunting their ability to communicate without humans noticing, that's why they can talk and talk and talk.  
_

_Writing this is an experiment for me. Not only to try out my writing skills in a foreign language, but also to see if I'm able to catch a world, actions, atmospheres and conversations in words. I hope I'm succeeding, if even a little. Enjoy!  
_

* * *

"What was that about with Alice?" I asked as Edward and I were finally, finally walking to our last class of the day, Philosophy. Jasper and Alice were done for the day, they would be waiting for the rest of us near the car. Or somewhere in the forest, more like.

This one course I was actually looking forward to, not only because it was our last lesson of the day, but also because it was _fun_ to have philosophic discussions with Edward. The absolute horror about it was that it was indeed our _ninth_ period of the day. Carlisle had explained that the school had been forced to introduce ninth periods for reasons of classroom availability. I just thought it torture, but had agreed as I would be with Edward. I regretted my decision deeply now.

"Nothing," Edward murmured, not looking at me.

"I don't believe you."

"Then don't," he countered, smiling at me.

I let it go. We could go on for days on end like this. He wouldn't yield until he was ready.

From the first minute of the class I could tell that Mr. Cole and I were going to get along very well. He was a man in his forties, and he had a knack of translating philosophical questions into everyday situations.

Dana was not in this class, fortunately, nor was her pack. Mark was nowhere to be seen either. Maybe philosophy was not their thing. Maybe they'd decided that _nothing_ was worth considering taking ninth periods.

"We need to talk about the girl later," I whispered when the teacher had started his lesson. I did not even bother to call her by her name.

"Do we? I was hoping to solve the matter by ignoring it."

I chuckled softly at that. "We have to decide whether or not we let her know that we're together, or else why you won't go with her."

"I can tell her 'no' in a gentlemanly fashion," Edward replied. "I've done that before, you know," he smirked, an evil look flashing through his eyes.

"Like what," I teased, "'no thanks, I'm kind of married to a girl ninety years my junior whom I have a daughter with?'"

This time Edward laughed too.

"Hmm, tempting, but no, little gold digger."

"Yes, I've been waiting for you to die," I sighed. "I want your Vanquish."

He smiled his lovely crooked smile, but didn't budge. "Can I not tell her that I am not interested?"

"Oh, her world will shatter, I'm sure. But I don't think she'd be convinced. We should let her know about us."

"I disagree. We'll talk about it tonight," he sighed. "Alice might help."

"Can I ask you what Dana was thinking? Surely you saw it coming during break?"

Edward turned to look at me, his eyes wide in sincerity. "I did _not_ hear her coming, Bella, you must believe me. She was thinking a lot of nasty things, but not about falling against me. I was blocking her out, but I'm sure about that."

And, yet again, he was taking the blame for something that wasn't even remotely his fault.

"It was not your fault, Edward," I soothed him. "I'm not accusing you, am I?"

He frowned a little at that. "No," he conceded, ducking his head. Was he embarrassed?

"I could say it was my fault, as I was distracting you."

"No, Bella, how could you take the blame for this?"

"That's what I mean," I said. "Don't blame yourself."

Edward frowned again, and sighed then.

"Nasty things?" I asked carefully after a moment.

"She has a lot of experience for a girl who has not the legal age to participate in such activities," he murmured.

I bit back the obvious reply about his own 'age'. I wasn't sure he would find it amusing right now.

Then Edward's head shut up and he answered the teacher's question without blinking twice.

Apparently, our conversation was over. This did not refrain me however to pay Edward back for the way he had teased me today. I lowered my shield.

_Was she really bad? Can you still hear her now?_

Edward nodded almost imperceptibly. He could not ignore my thoughts, he was too delighted if I let him hear them. Of course I abused my gift without shame when it came to getting things I wanted.

_Do you want me to shield her, so you can't hear her?_

Edward frowned the tiniest bit, shaking his head minutely. "I'd like to keep an eye on her," he whispered lowly.

_Good thing she's not in this class, though. Maybe I should replace some of the fantasies she has forced on you?_

Edward shot me a warning look.

_Hmm. Let's see if I can do it better than her. _

I began to send him vivid mental images of how I would approach him, reaching up to tangle my hands in his delicious hair, and kiss him. I showed him how I would suck his lower lip into my mouth before I would kiss him in earnest.

He was positively rigid now.

My mind let my kisses trail down, along his jaw line, via the hollow under his ear, licking the delicate skin there, before I reached his neck. Then I pictured how I would let my teeth graze the skin of his neck, the way I knew he liked so much. My hands, in the meantime, had meandered around his waist and found their way to the bare skin of his back under his sweater. In my fantasy, I let my nails scrape his skin softly._ Say, are you attached to that sweater you're wearing?_

Ha! He was furious, either because I was tormenting him, or because I had disturbed my little 'vision' with a very mundane thing. The electric current I could feel vibrating between us, told me it was the latter.

_Okay, the sweater can go then. _I pictured ripping it off his body in an instant, and then I let him see his glorious body through my eyes as I appraised every plane, every muscle of his torso. My hands wandered across his body again in my mind's eye, slipping underneath the waistband of his jeans..

"Bella." Edward swallowed loudly. "I get it. I'll be good."

I smiled in triumph and turned my entire attention back to the lesson. Or, maybe three percent of it, as the electricity vibrating between me and my beloved was taking quite a bit of control to _not _act on immediately.

We hurried to our lockers after class, we were in a frenzy to be on our way as quickly as possible. My breathing was ragged, and I could hear it was no different for Edward.

I'd just stashed my books and ripped my jacket out of my locker when I heard someone call my name. Mark.

"Bella! Wait up!"

_No, I don't want to!_ "What's up, Mark?"

Edward was looking at the ceiling in desperate impatience.

"So, how was your first day?"

"Very nice. Sorry Mark, but I've got to go. I have… an appointment." Ugh. I still couldn't lie.

"Oh, okay," Mark replied, a little disappointed. "See you tomorrow, then?"

"Sure! Bye!" I was walking already before I had finished my greeting.

"We should take one bike," I whispered to Edward as we hurried towards the exit, trying to find our way through the students. "Because I refuse to go one second longer without you close to me."

"Agreed," Edward replied. We were outside now, crossing the busy parking lot. Alice and Jasper were by our cars. The rest was nowhere to be seen. Renesmee I had seen leave with her friends, but my other siblings were out of sight.

Edward just threw the keys to his bike to Jasper, who caught them without looking.

"I'm driving, by the way," I said casually, getting the keys out of my pocket.

"No, I'm driving." He took my keys in a movement so fast that even I had trouble registering it.

"_I_ found the meadow. I'm driving."

"You can guide me."

I lowered my shield and simply _showed_ him what I wanted to do to him when we got to the meadow. In the second he was distracted, I took my keys back. "I'm driving."

Our bikes were parked close to the main school building, in the designated spots. I had to admit that even I could admire the beauty of these beasts. And I loved it that my bike had a kick-start system, instead of pressing some silly button to get it going. Courtesy to Jacob, of course.

I got on my bike at once, kicking it to life. It gave a glorious roar. As Edward went to sit behind me, we heard Alice calling after us.

"Wait!" she cried as she came running towards us. Before we could ask what she wanted, she put a backpack on Edward's shoulder. He grinned at her, then got on the bike behind me.

When I felt his body pressing against mine, it felt like I could finally relax. The pain that I had not realized had been very much there, was now gone.

As I turned to drive off the parking lot, Edward shifted closer to me. One long hand snaked around my waist, under my clothes, caressing my skin. His other gently pulled my hair back. A moment later I could first feel his lips on the sensitive skin of my neck, then his teeth, nipping it. It was the most sensual, and the most intimate gesture to a vampire. The ultimate measure of trust between mates. I tried to disguise my growl by letting the engine of the bike roar. Then I took off with such uncontrolled force that I did a wheelie on the parking lot. I didn't even hear the cheers of the students who'd been watching.

As soon as we had reached the end of the trail, we had pushed the bike into the rich undergrowth and we were running. It was not possible to hold hands while running in this forest, the growth was too thick, but we kept as close to the other as was possible, Edward half a pace behind me to let me guide the way. I got rid of my jacket while running. I'd find it back later, but I wanted to get it off me in one piece, so I had to do it now. From the corner of my eye, I saw Edward do the same.

This meadow was further away than our old one had been. Still, in our hurry, it took little time to get there.

I reached the clearing first, stopping dead on the grass in the middle. I turned, and before half a second had passed, Edward had scooped me up as he ran past me. The next moment, I was with my back against a big tree, Edward pressing his body flush against mine with delicious force.

His fingers twisted through mine as he looked into my eyes. His pupils were dilated, his gaze was dark with desire. We looked at each other for one endless moment, the silence filled only with our ragged breathing. Then Edward pressed his velvet lips against mine with a need I'd rarely felt from him before.

I wanted nothing more than to comply with that need.

The dull fire that had settled in my body earlier today, was now blazing hot, licking every nerve, making my body extremely sensible to his touch.

Edward brought his hands up to my head, cupping my face, then twisting through my hair and pulled my face still closer to his. He kissed me like it was the first time — or the last. It was a good thing we didn't need to breathe. We wouldn't have had time for it.

As his lips traveled to my jaw, to the hollow under my ear, down my neck, a soft whimper escaped me. When I felt his teeth again nipping the skin of my neck, my knees gave way and I let myself slide down. Edward let go of my face and wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me up effortlessly against him.

When he lifted me up a little further, I understood his hint and wrapped my legs around his waist. Edward's lips traveled back to my mouth and we both gasped, breathing in each other's scent. Never breaking our kiss, he lifted me and carried me towards the middle of the clearing, laying me down in the thick soft grass.

He kissed me again, then ripped open my blouse, buttons flying everywhere. I barely felt the fabric move against my skin as he removed the blouse from my body entirely. My bra was just another annoying obstruction that was taken care of easily. He then quickly ripped off his own sweater, revealing his glorious marble body. I clawed at his chest, anxious to have him close to me again. Edward took my wrists without effort and lifted my hands above my head with one hand. His free hand roamed across my body, touching every inch of skin he could reach, followed by his eager kisses. The low rumble that came from deep within his chest was now almost constant, in time with his ragged breathing.

He was driving me crazy, pressing his velvet marble body against mine and touching and kissing me, while I could not get my hands on him in turn. I tugged my arms a little. Edward looked up at me, his liquid topaz eyes bright and knowing, before his lips found the hollow under my ear again. He didn't let me go.

The hunger, the _need_ for him I felt now, gave me the strength to break his grip on my wrists. I tangled my hands in his hair immediately, pulling his face to mine so I could kiss him in earnest. I bit his lower lip softly, then sucked his tongue into my mouth. His taste, his scent… It was almost more than I could bear. I kissed him harder. It was almost violent.

Then I flipped us over so I was on top and started to devour him. I was not gentle — we had the rest of eternity to be gentle — and my nails, tongue and teeth found purchase on every bit of skin I could reach. I think he was not even aware of the snarls and moans he was emanating. Nor was I, with mine. I trailed my way down towards the waistband of this pants, my hair tickling the skin of his abdomen as I ducked my head to lick the skin below his navel. Oh, that _taste_…

My fingers reached the fabric of his jeans, slipping underneath the waistband of his pants to touch more of his skin. The back of my mind reminded me that he was fond of this pair of jeans. Gritting my teeth, I took them off him without tearing them. He would thank me for that later.

Before I could do anything else, he was on top of me again. His hands were everywhere, his kisses were urgent and demanding. My jeans did not survive our encounter, but I didn't mind. I was with Edward in a _very_ happy place.

Edward was between my legs now, resting most of his weight on me instead of on his arms — just the way I liked it. His fingers trailed in my hair, his eyes were closed almost tightly. I was in a dilemma; I wanted to close my eyes and let my pleasure wash over me, but I wanted to see my Edward who was so beautiful it almost hurt my eyes. We kissed deeply again, exchanging the venom that tasted so unbearably sweet I could only want more of it. I sighed in return when I felt his sweet breath wash over my face. My eyes had closed on their own now, and all my other senses heightened, vibrating _Edward_, _Edward_, _Edward_.

I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him still closer to me, tracing my nails along his back as I did so. The growl that erupted from him and echoed off the trees was very satisfying indeed.

Edward took care of the last pieces of clothing that were on us with a flick of his wrist — literally. Finally, all the barriers were gone and there was only us. He looked into my eyes, and his gaze was scorching. What I'd interpreted as anger so many times when I was still human, had always been a very different emotion indeed.

Edward took one ragged breath, trying to hold back. He still was afraid of hurting me, of being too demanding or even disrespectful. Well, today I really did not have patience for his hesitation. I pulled him towards me with my legs that were still wrapped around his hips, my arms around his shoulders emphasizing my unspoken question. With a deep groan, Edward let go and lowered his body over mine.

When we became one, all the world fell away and my universe became Edward, and Edward alone. We moved in unison, scaring the wildlife in the forest into silence with our hisses and groans. It wasn't long before the blazing fire in my body started to increase in heat, making every cell in my body tingle. Edward kept up with me and together we tumbled off the edge of the world, and we were happy to do so.

We needed a while to come back down from our high again. My head rested on Edward's chest, and he cradled me in his arms. His hand caressed my upper arm thoughtlessly. His other arm was wrapped tightly around my waist, like he would never let me go. I caressed Edward's chest in turn, and pressed my body a little closer to his.

It was still a bizarre thought that it was almost freezing outside, and we were lying here without a scrap of clothes on, without feeling cold. I considered it a good thing, though. It could get annoying to share a house with eight others besides your beloved.

Soon after the threat of the Volturi had gone, I'd had room in my head to really start exploring my vampire life. And I learned a lot of things, fast. One of them was that the family would go out of its way to fulfill the needs of each of its members. This included hunting of course, and material desires. But the family would also at set times leave the house altogether for a couple of days, leaving one couple behind to spend some real alone time there.

I thought this a very nice thing once we had to leave behind our cottage in Forks.

"We should go," Edward murmured, pulling me out of my reverie. "Renesmee will be home soon."

"She will. And we'll have tons of homework, of course," I joked.

Edward grinned at that. He could probably even recycle his earlier work.

"I did have a fun assignment in Literature today, though: Google your name and shudder."

"Shudder at the lack of results, maybe," Edward chuckled. "Might be interesting though what that girl Dana will turn up."

"That's what I was thinking," I agreed. "I had a nasty discussion with her in that class. I don't think she likes me." I sighed dramatically.

"I don't like her either." Edward's tone was dead serious. "That trick she played me during break was really…" He shuddered without finishing his sentence.

"Not to mention she wants you to go to the Christmas party with her," I added. "I think we should just tell her tomorrow that we're together."

"The thing is, I don't think she will stop when she knows that," Edward said doubtfully. "She'll try to break us apart or something. Not that she can, of course," he added, hugging me a little tighter. "But it's going to be annoying at least."

"So, is this Dana girl going to be the new Mike Newton?" I joked.

Edward looked at me in surprise. "You still know that name?"

"You would be surprised of how much I still know about my human life," I smiled. "It's all blurred, of course, but I knew I was going to lose those memories so I held on to them. Especially the ones of Mike," I teased with a wicked grin.

It was just enough to set him off.

He was on top of me again in a movement that was so fast that even in my eyes I saw just a blur. He looked into my eyes for a moment, then pressed his lips to mine gently, and let his kisses trail down in a familiar trail along my jaw, then licked the hollow under my ear. I shuddered at this delicate sensation, the venom making my skin tingle gloriously. Then he came back up again, kissing my lips once more.

"I suddenly feel the particular need to replace the memories you have of a certain Mike Newton," he whispered, his lips moving against mine as he spoke. His hands were trailing in my hair, and the weight of his body on mine made me purr. I inhaled his scent greedily, it was like a drug to me. Hadn't Edward said something like that about me once?

I let my hands roam over his back, feeling the ripple of muscles under his skin as he moved to kiss my neck, my collarbone. Although we didn't have much time left, we were more patient now. I made a mental note again to talk to him about the way we had teased each other today in school. However much I liked it — and our behavior had been innocent compared to what we could do to each other — it was not an easy task to have to wait until school was out.

When I teased him, or he me for that matter, it was usually a simple sequence of events. One of us would snap and we would dart immediately into the forest or anywhere else outside of hearing range from either humans or vampires — if we made it that far. At school we'd had to wait until we were free to go, and if we didn't stop it now, the teasing would get less and less innocent by the day. Plus we had our bonding thing to consider. I didn't like the fact that we might be needing to start avoiding eye contact to prevent it from happening. I also thought it might evoke suspicion if Edward and I started to disappear from school without cause for a couple of hours. You could only have so many doctor's appointments a year, especially when your father was one.

"Hey, poker face," Edward pulled me out of my thoughts. "Am I not interesting enough?"

Even if my mind had wandered for maybe a second or two, Edward was always quick to notice.

His fingers traced my face softly, caressing my cheekbones, then my lips.

I chuckled, my body moving against his creating friction in pleasant places.

"I was only thinking of you, of course," I soothed, nuzzling my nose against his. My right hand moved from his shoulder to his hair, my nails softly scraping his scalp. The other moved to the small of his back, one of my favorite Edward-pieces.

"I'm right here," he rumbled softly in my ear, his voice low and rough. At that same moment, he pressed forward, entering me.

The growl that escaped from me involuntarily let him know clearly enough that I thought he was, indeed.

It was sweet, it was intimate, it was everything. I felt so incredibly _safe_ when I was with Edward in this way. He held me with both his strong arms and his gaze. He was so beautiful, he was my personal angel. He wasn't even in disguise. I tried to keep my eyes open to drink in the sight of him, but there were so many delicious sensations washing over me that they closed without volition. We were both growling softly constantly as he rocked us gently but steadily to another burst of fireworks.

I walked through the meadow afterwards, looking for the remains of my clothes. I picked up the shreds of my jeans. This was bad.

Edward laughed at my pout and threw me the backpack Alice had given him just before we left school. When I opened it, I laughed so hard it echoed off the trees. Inside the pack were two new sets of clothes.

We came home in time to take a shower together before Renesmee entered the house, flustered, happy, overexcited and very tired from all the new experiences she had had.

We all sat down in the living room, and listened to her stories. She sat next to me, and I held her hand in both of mine to see her relive all the wonderful things she had experienced today. Her love for Jacob gave all her memories a silver lining.

Renesmee told us everything she had shared with us already in lunch, and then continued on the details of her afternoon classes and her meeting with the friends she'd made. Carlisle and Esme were glowing with a pride that could match Edward's and mine. In Health, two girls had asked Renesmee all about her life in Alaska, before asking her to visit the mall with them after school. I saw the faces of the girls in my mind's eye as Renesmee talked about them, and I knew Edward was seeing them too. Even through Renesmee's memories I could see that they genuinely liked our daughter, and they wanted to get to know her. I smiled when Renesmee's memories betrayed how she reveled in the fact that she could eat human food without problems. It made it so much easier for her to fit in. I knew this had been an insecurity of hers. One of many. I had reassured her time and time again, sometimes not knowing if the words were meant for her or for me. 'Besides,' I had finally added once, 'you have your own Seeing Eye dog with you. He'll guide you through it all.' She'd laughed at that.

When Renesmee was done talking, I finally noticed that Edward was making a serious effort to not burst out in laughter.

"What's wrong?" I asked, fearing it was something about Renesmee.

"Don't you dare," Rosalie threatened, glaring at Edward.

I looked at her in surprise. "What's wrong?" I repeated.

Edward could no longer contain his snickers. Only now did I notice that Emmett was looking _very_ annoyed.

"They got detention," Alice finally betrayed them. "They could not leave each other alone."

Oho! An immensely smug smile found its way to my face. "_Really_?" I asked, wicked pleasure drooping from my voice.

"You know," Emmett suggested slyly, "this just means of course that the bond between Rosalie and I is stronger than yours with Edward."

Oh, no, he was not going to get away with this by turning it around. "_Au contraire_, my dear brother. I think it just shows how much stronger Edward and I are. _We_ can go for a whole day without reassuring ourselves that all is well."

Neither Emmett nor Rosalie answered that, they just huffed and looked away. I put some more oil on the fire. "Must have been real annoying, having to wait yet another hour in detention. Since your bond is so strong, and all…" I was talking more to Emmett than to Rosalie. I liked Rosalie way too much to be teasing her like this. But honestly, it _was_ funny. How many decades had they been together?

"Well, Edward of course could fulfill his needs with the fantasies of that girl that _fell_ for him, whatsherface, Dana?" Emmett said sweetly.

Within the blink of an eye, Emmett was lying on his back on the floor, Edward and I both hovering over him, snarling and hissing. Rosalie stood in a crouch to protect her mate, and the rest of the family was standing up in alarm.

Then I could feel Jasper working his magic on us and we all calmed down again a bit. Edward got out of his crouch and reached out his hand to pull Emmett up again.

"That bad, huh," Emmett said when we were seated again.

"We'll talk about it later," I said through clenched teeth. I did not want to bother Renesmee with this all, although I could tell she was worried sick. I tried to divert the attention. "First, we have to get Renesmee and Jake started on their homework," — I ignored Jacob's furious glare — "and Jake will have to eat. And then I guess it's homework for us, too." I couldn't hide my annoyance at that.

"Yes, how did you do today?" Carlisle asked with genuine interest. I silently thanked him for changing the subject in such a tense atmosphere. Esme beside him was looking at me with eyes that sparkled with pride and love.

"She did so well," Edward said with pride. "She got nervous at lunch, with so many students in one room. She asked herself if we could go and sit outside, so we did."

I was sitting in Edward's lap, and looked around at him, one eyebrow raised. He _knew_ that it really annoyed me when my self-control was praised like I was weeks old instead of years. Plus, I could talk for myself, could I not?

Carlisle noticed my irritation immediately. "How did you do, Bella?" he asked gently.

I nodded at him, thanking him for again being so observant. "All went very well. The thirst was very bearable. I was nervous at first, not only for myself but for Ness and Jake as well. But I'm guessing that at a school as big as this one, you get remarkably less attention. The students mind their own business, and I like that. And we have a lot of nice teachers. Especially our homeroom teacher, Mr. O'Neil—"

"_Patrick_," Edward and Alice interrupted me at the same time, snickering.

"_Patrick,_" I corrected myself, "is a fun project. He's the school councilor."

"You gave him food for thought for weeks, I should think," Edward grinned.

Carlisle was still looking at us expectantly, although I doubted it would be as fun for him to hear our story as it had been when we were in class. Esme was glowing like the moon beside him, eyes big in anticipation.

"She was so funny," Edward explained. "Mr. O'Neil—"

_"Patrick_," Alice and I said together, laughing.

"_Patrick_," Edward amended, grinning widely, "started asking immediately how it felt like sharing a home with nine others. But then he asked us if we were okay with the moving and all. Bella didn't even look up at him, and then she said, 'sure, sure'."

Jacob's explosive laugh made the windows rattle in their sills. The rest joined him shortly after.

"He'll be wanting to talk to you soon," Alice mused while she looked at me.

"He does. He believes I'm a little… overprotective of you," Edward added.

"He did notice it when I elbowed you," I observed. "Seriously though, 'it's not without difficulty'?" I mimicked his voice.

"You _said_ that?" Rosalie asked, incredulous.

Edward shrugged, my favorite crooked smile appearing on his face. "Just having some fun."

"Have you met any humans?" Esme asked suddenly, changing the subject. "Because Renesmee seems to have made some friends."

"Who are scared to death of Jacob," Renesmee mumbled.

"As they should be," Jacob said naturally. Renesmee just snorted at him.

Well, Jacob _was_ a monster of a man. Although he still had the face of a sixteen-year-old, his body was more than mature. Only if you looked into Jacob's eyes closely, you could see an ancient wisdom that was unsettling if you didn't know who — or what — he really was. But Jacob was an excellent actor, and he hid behind a mask I knew all too well when he was around strangers. I was happy that when with us at least, he was his normal self.

"Well, have you?" Esme asked again.

"Yes," I said. "A guy named Mark. He was nice enough. He doesn't know what to make of Edward, though."

"That was entirely your fault, love," Edward accused lightly.

"Ah, yes, because you were the pinnacle of innocence today," I retorted.

He raised his eyebrows at me. "Always am."

"Hello, children present," Renesmee interrupted.

"Any others?" Esme continued.

"Well, there's this one girl, who we are _not_ going to talk about right now, and she annoys the hell out of me," I sighed.

"And me," Alice added.

"And me," Edward finished.

"Even me," Jasper then said quietly in his low voice.

Well, that _was_ something.

"But we won't discuss her now," I repeated. "Let's get Renesmee and Jake started with their homework. I am going to enter my name into Google, and spend the next hours to collect the results."

Emmett snickered, and I looked up at him. "Don't get any ideas," I warned him.

"Never," he replied, amber eyes wide and dimples appearing.

Realization dawned on me as I took in his face, but Edward spoke quietly from behind me. "No, Emmett. Cullen responsibility comes before pulling pranks."

Emmett made an annoyed sound, but gave in. "_You_ are just _no_ fun."

The afternoon had turned into late evening as we had been talking. Jacob had eaten a meal for two, and he and Renesmee had done their homework together, sitting at the big dining room table, heads close. I memorized the scene, it was so lovely. They'd gone to bed early, exhausted from all the new things.

The rest of the family lingered in the living room, enjoying some quiet time together.

Emmett and Jasper had gotten a big fire going, and Alice, Jasper, Edward and I had snuggled close to the flames to warm up our frozen skins. Vampires liked heat. A lot. I never really considered that when I was still human. Edward had never really mentioned it as far as I could recall. It did explain the location of Isle Esme, of course.

I was sitting between Edward's legs on thick cushions on the floor, leaning back against his chest. His arms were tightly around me, his lips almost continuously pressed against my neck and throat. I closed my eyes and sighed deeply, a silly smile plastered on my face.

Alice and Jasper were both purring constantly, Jasper's happiness rolling off him in waves, wrapping us all in a blanket of contentedness. It almost made me purr myself.

Rosalie and Emmett were sitting in the love seat, playing Mortal Kombat on the Playstation. She was beating him mercilessly, using every cheat she knew. Carlisle and Esme were on the couch behind us, snuggled together under a thick quilt, watching Emmett and Rose play.

It was quiet and relaxed, save for the faint rustle of the fire and the exaggerated fighting sounds with the low voice commanding repeatedly _'finish him_' coming from the TV. I let my mind wander and knew that we had a lot to talk about.

I wanted to talk with Edward about the teasing. True, I had started it this morning, but I was not at all sure that this was the best way for us to release some of the excess energy that was building between us during the day. We needed to talk about Dana. Alice must have seen things. I wanted to know if we were going to the Christmas party, I wanted to know how Edward could best put Dana down.

And somewhere, in de the back of my mind, the girl Jodi was bothering me. She was so sweet, so _innocent_, and Dana bossed her around. I wanted to help Jodi, but I had no idea how. And it was probably better if I left it all alone. I knew that.

"You know," Alice suddenly started in her bell-like voice, "in Spanish, Mrs. Gonzalez asked us to discuss our Christmas plans. As it is December sixth already, I think we should start making preparations."

"What an excellent idea," Esme agreed in her soft voice. "Our first Christmas in our new home. I would very much like a tree this year."

"On it," Emmett said as he started to get up, but Rosalie pulled him back down.

Esme continued, undisturbed. "And maybe we could get each other some presents as well? A traditional party."

"Then we need a turkey," I said. "A live one, of course."

"You are absurd," Edward chuckled into of my neck, apparently having found a new reason to cover my skin with a next round of sweet kisses.

Alice shot me a glare, but then leaned back against Jasper, who was softly massaging her scalp with his fingertips.

"Maybe we could invite the Denali's," Alice continued.

"I'm afraid that the Denali's already have their plans for this year," Carlisle said.

"I didn't see that," Alice pouted.

"That's because you haven't been thinking about Christmas at all," Jasper soothed. "And you've been so busy keeping an eye on all of us."

"All was well today," Alice said softly, incoherently, but I felt Edward tense behind me.

"What did you see?" I asked, alarmed.

"Nothing," Alice replied, a small frown flashing across her face.

"Alice?" I pressed. I knew, I just knew, this was about Dana.

"Nothing," Alice repeated, looking at me now.

"Sure?" Edward demanded. "Because I don't like what you're seeing."

Alice was getting irritated. "Edward, I invite you to live in my head for one whole day, and see how many disturbing visions I get. It's hazy, it means nothing. Anything can happen," she sighed, wanted the subject to be done with.

What had she seen that made Edward rigid behind me?

"Why can't I get a tree?" Trust Emmett to lift any tense atmosphere.

"Because our daughter is sleeping and I would like it to stay that way," I said evenly, without looking up.

"I can be quiet," Emmett pressed. "Really, I can. Jazz, want to come and get a tree?"

"Emmett, we can wait 'till morning," Esme soothed. "I think that Ness would love it to join us with the decorations."

"I want a tree," Emmett sulked like toddler, balling his fists like a small child would do.

"You cry baby, you have eternity," I reprimanded him. "What's another few hours?"

"Mom! I. Want. A. Tree!"

I had to look up at him to see which 'mom' he was referring to. Apparently it was me. I sighed, a very mom-like sigh. I didn't want him to deny his fun. But Ness was sleeping and if she woke up and figured out what we were doing, she would never go back to bed.

"Emmett, don't take the fun away for Renesmee," I asked him gently. "Please. You know how she likes it to decorate the house. We can do it tomorrow, after school."

"Then we have to go shopping!" Alice piped up, happy now. "We cannot decorate in blue again, that's so last year!"

Everyone avoided eye contact with her carefully, so as to avoid to be chosen to come shop with her.

"Maybe Ness wants to come with you," Edward said to Alice. "Ask her tomorrow," he said as she started to get up. "Really Alice, she needs to sleep now."

"It seems I can't get used to that," Alice frowned. "Maybe it's because I have the feeling she's sleeping less and less."

"She is, isn't she?" I agreed. More and more often, Renesmee would just skip a night's sleep, without showing any signs of fatigue. Jacob usually stayed awake with her, having to pay the price by sleeping extra hours the day after.

"Her cheeks were rosy with excitement and exhaustion tonight," Rosalie said dreamily. "Although I know it must be uncomfortable for her, I so like to see her that way."

I looked at Rosalie, smiling. "I know."

I did.

* * *

_So, what did you think? Too graphic? Too tame? Too boring? Too long? Or just right? Let me know. Work with me, and I'll work with you :)  
_

_What do you think Edward is planning for Bella?_

_I've gotten some excellent suggestions about things that Dana could do. Please help me with more of them! I'm not sure how exactly, but it is better for her to not know that Edward and Bella are together._

_I plan on writing a Dana-pov to explain exactly why that is. Meanwhile, Edward is kindly but urgently requesting I let him tell his pov as well. I'm afraid I won't get any sleep for a week once I let him pour out his thoughts, so I've told him I need to think about it. Although I know the answer already, and if he's read my thoughts, he will as well...  
_


	7. Meeting in the middle

**A/N Don't own Twilight. Don't want to gain money out of this fan fiction endeavor. (Wouldn't be able to even if I tried :P )  
**

_Hi folks, _

_Don't have that much to say this time. I'm probably not as skilled a writer as I thought myself. :P The peeps who get me on author or story note really make my day and make it all worth my while. Please know that I really, really appreciate it that you value my story enough to want to know more about it! So thankyouthankyouthankyou! And endless, eternal thanks for those who take the effort and review. You have absolutely no idea how happy you make me.  
_

_I read somehwere that it's better to be bad at something you really like to do, than to be good at something you hate. And I like to write. Obviously. But I'm not blind. Stories with thousands of reviews are the stories that contain (graphic) lemon. I finished chapter 9 of this story yesterday, and I've written lemon in it. It's something I really never have done before, so I'm anxious about posting that. Check out my other story as well, by the way :)  
_

_Until then, some lemon in this chapter, some revelations, and some bonding between siblings and mates. _

* * *

The whole family stayed in that night. We all needed to get used to the fact that we were going to be separated for set times now, and we all realized we needed to get used to that. Although I had anticipated alone-time with Edward the entire day, I felt that we had shared everything we needed to in our meadow. For now, we were content to be sitting together, silently, with the rest of the family around us.

I felt like there was something 'off'. As if I was looking at the world through a window. But I thought it was because of all the new experiences high school brought with them, so I didn't voice my concerns.

I didn't realize how much time had passed when I heard Carlisle getting ready for his early shift at the hospital.

I had to talk to Edward about certain things, though. He sensed my anticipation, because he tightened his grip around me a little.

"We need a game plan," I said bluntly. "We can't go on like we did yesterday. It was driving us both insane."

"And us," Jasper murmured.

"That's what I mean. I mean, it's fun and all, but it's dangerous. Our bonding started in a room full of students…"

"Really?" Carlisle interrupted from his office at the first floor. "That's interesting. I always thought you needed to be in relatively calm environments for that."

"Apparently not," I replied. "But Alice took us out of it." _Fiercely._

"I would like to talk about that, later," Carlisle stated as he appeared down the stairs, looking earnestly at us with a compassionate look in his eyes. Then he kissed Esme and walked out the door with a greeting to all of us.

Jasper shot me a meaningful look, and I nodded to let him know I knew what he meant. He wanted me to talk about the dazzling detail. I knew now too that Edward knew what Jasper and I had talked about today. I hoped Edward didn't mind.

"Yes. We need a plan," Edward said, lips never leaving my neck, and ignoring Jasper's message. "How about we meet in the middle? Just, I don't know, touch whenever possible? We can hardly sneak out during class."

"I don't mind skipping Gym. Or any other course." _Or school in general._

"But it's a good idea," Alice said. "You should meet in the middle, as Edward puts it. Let out the buffer overflow."

"I like that," Edward agreed. "Although it is not enough, I feel that it's easier if I can just touch you once in a while. The idea of not being able to touch you while I'm so close to you… It feels unnatural."

"It's not that hard," Alice huffed.

"You are not allowed an opinion in this, being mated to an empath and all," I grumbled.

"You can hold hands under the table," Rosalie said from the couch, never ceasing playing her game on the console. "Teachers are exceptionally unobservant, I've noticed."

"Then how did you get detention?" I asked.

"Because teachers _do_ tend to notice when a guy is feeling up his girl in the middle of the hallway," Alice snickered. We laughed with her.

"I still cannot understand how we find ourselves at a school with a non-pda policy," I wondered. "And a pretty strict one, seeing as Emmett and Rosalie got detention on their first day."

Emmett huffed, he was still annoyed about it. Apparently, it was hard for them, too.

"Maybe we did start this too soon," Edward said softly. "I'm not ready to stay away from you. I don't like it. At all."

"You can't drop out," Esme's sweet voice came from behind us. "Thousands of students have seen you. You would not be able to go out in public if you don't go to school. It would give to many questions."

We knew that, of course.

"How do _you_ do it?" I asked Esme. "With Carlisle taking long shifts at the hospital?"

"Carlisle forgets his lunch often," Rosalie said meaningfully, and we chuckled when Esme ducked her head in fake embarrassment.

"But it's not only… our desire," I continued after a while, once again happy I could no longer blush, although we talked about _everything_ in this family.

"It's the girls looking at Edward. It's the boys looking at me. I'm not jealous, I know better than that. But I don't need to read minds to know what they're thinking, and I'm not blind."

"You'll get used to that, you know," Rosalie said. "You still don't think you're beautiful, so you don't even notice half the boys checking you out."

"I do," Edward interrupted softly.

Rosalie continued, ignoring him. "But it gets easier, over time."

"What do I do?" I demanded.

"Stare them down," she shrugged. "Show them their instincts are right."

"What if that doesn't work?" I asked, referring to Dana.

"What happened today, exactly?" Rosalie asked in turn. "I knew some girl tripped, but what was that all about?"

"This girl, Dana, has gotten it in her mind that she wants to have me," Edward said. "And she's awfully determined, it's not a silly fantasy. She walked past me today and let herself fall, right into my arms."

Rosalie raised an eyebrow. "That girl has guts."

I couldn't agree more.

"Oh, Edward," Esme breathed. "Was the thirst horrible?"

I hadn't even considered that before, and I felt horrible that I hadn't even asked.

"It was perfectly manageable."

"Does she know you're together?" Rosalie asked then.

"I'm not sure. She feels like there's something more between us, though," I frowned, thinking back on her reactions today.

"Show her, then," Rosalie said. "Show her that Edward's your man. Intimidate the hell out of her."

"She won't stop at that," Edward growled softly.

"Still, it's worth a shot. She didn't see us leave together, by any chance, did she?" I asked hopefully at Alice and Jasper. Alice tried to hide it, but I saw her wince. Fiercely. Edward tensed behind me.

"No," Alice replied then, face relaxed again. "But _you_ were pretty distracted, forgetting your helmets."

_Fuck._ "Oops."

"You made quite the show anyway," Jasper chuckled. "Say, Bella, I didn't know you could do stunts on bikes?"

"What did she do?" Emmett asked eagerly.

"I took off too fast," I scowled.

"So? It's a Ducati. They're supposed to take off fast."

"She did a wheelie on the parking lot," Alice filled him in.

"Excellent!" Emmett boomed. "That must have been a sight to see."

I really kind of hoped that nobody had noticed it. Esme's disappointed sound behind me broke me.

"I'm sorry," I said. "But this _was_ Edward's fault."

"No, love, it wasn't. If you had let me drive, this would not have happened."

"I beg to differ."

My family chuckled, hearing me using Edward's usual words.

"Still, we need to avoid this," Edward said. "We'll meet in the middle. And we need to let Dana know I'm quite unavailable," he added, as another stream of kisses started to cover the skin of my neck.

"What about the Christmas party?" I asked then, when my train of thought had reoccurred to me.

"We could just not go, feign family obligations," Rosalie proposed. "If we want to party, we can go to a real club."

I looked at Alice, who was so still it frightened me. I noticed how Jasper held her protectively as she was seeing her vision. Meanwhile, Edward stilled behind me, seeing what she saw.

"Nothing certain," Alice said finally. "We'll have to wait and see. Let's not worry about it. It's just real ambivalent right now."

And with that, we were all supposed to be assured and the conversation was apparently over. I was none too sure about it all, and I could tell Edward wasn't either.

We did our homework in les than half an hour as the sun was coming up, announcing a dull gray day with plenty of rain. I entered my name in Google with a smug smile, making a screenshot of the page that stated that there were no results to display. Although I'd been looking forward to put Dana's name through Google, right now I found that I couldn't care less. I didn't know her last name either. I didn't want to know.

Today we would be filled with other subjects than yesterday. I was delighted as Edward and I would both be taking Music. I was delighted as this day held more fun courses, such as Psychology and Health Science. I was delighted that it was a shorter day. We couldn't have chosen more eclectic curricula, but we thought that it might provide distraction.

I was even more delighted about the fact that we had two hours of study hall today. I would study all right. I would study the body belonging to a certain Mr. Edward Anthony Cullen. Edward laughed out loud when I told him this with lowered shield, but he didn't clarify when my siblings shot him questioning glances.

Renesmee woke early. She was bubbly, happy, and eager to go to school again. I met her in the kitchen, where she was searching for chocolates. She didn't prefer human food, but you could wake her in the dead of night for chocolate. She never ceased to amaze me.

When she had found her preferred sweets, she turned to me. "I want to talk about what happened yesterday during break," she said bluntly, not taking 'no' for an answer.

I pulled her against me, kissing her hair. "What do you want to know?"

"Why was daddy so furious? I've rarely seen him so angry."

I could feel her chin move on my shoulder as she spoke.

"Daddy was furious because the girl let herself fall against him, so she was in his arms," Edward said, walking into the kitchen. "And daddy was furious, because the girl has disturbing thoughts," he continued, his voice softer now.

"I don't want you to worry about this, Ness," I soothed. "Really, we can handle her."

"It upset me to see you so… helpless," she frowned, lost for words, but at the same time voicing our emotions to the letter.

"We'll have to get used to the fact that we'll get a lot of attention from others. Just like girls look at Jacob, just like you've seen the boys looking at you."

"Jacob stares them down. It embarrasses me," she said softly.

"Jacob wants to protect you," Edward said. "But he's not violent, is he?"

"Nah, he's just Jacob," Renesmee chuckled. "His presence alone suffices. And he follows me like a dog," she teased, knowing that Jake would hear us up in his room.

And he did. "Hey," he objected, still groggy from sleep, as he stumbled out of bed, probably trying to find his way to the shower with his eyes still closed.

"If anyone is bothering you, please let us know," Edward said, joining Renesmee and I in our hug by standing behind her. His long, strong arms wrapped around us both, and we stood like that for several minutes.

Finally Edward sighed and let go. "We need to go soon. Let's get ready." He took my hand and together we went to our room.

I dressed simply — a beige off-the-shoulder cashmere dress that felt soft against my skin, thick black tights and high-heeled boots. It had taken me years, but I had found a compromise with Alice — she could buy me anything she wanted, as long as it was _comfy_. I would rather die than admit that I was starting to enjoy shopping, though. I preferred to go with Edward or Renesmee.

When Edward emerged from the closet, I could only stare at him, my mouth hanging open inelegantly. He was wearing a simple dark grey v-necked sweater that hugged him like a second skin. His dark jeans were mesmerizing as well, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from his torso.

He took me in as well, amber eyes drifting to the bare skin of my neck and shoulder where the broad collar of the dress had drifted down.

"You look dangerously delicious," Edward observed, his voice husky.

"You look criminally indecent yourself," I countered, walking towards him. I let my hands travel up his arms, feeling the soft fabric of his sweater, feeling his muscles underneath that. I bit my lip.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea that you wear this today," I whispered. Then I looked up at him. "How many of these do you have?"

He got my hint. "Enough." His lips had found mine already, his tongue asking access to my mouth. His hands snaked around my waist, lifting me up so he didn't have to bend down to kiss me.

"No, we don't have time for that," Alice warned from downstairs.

"I beg to differ," Edward murmured against my lips as he put me down. I raised my arms so he could lift the dress over my head. Then he reached behind his back to pull off his own sweater. I watched, mesmerized by the rippling movement of his muscles underneath his skin. My hands traveled across his sculpted chest, my nails softly scraping his stomach. He shuddered at my touch, his breath halting, his eyes a liquid topaz that made me melt with want.

He took my hand and guided me to the bed, laying me down. He hovered over me, worshipping me, and started a trail of kisses, starting at my collarbone, covering my whole chest, my breasts, moving down until he reached the tights. I stifled a moan as he licked the skin under my navel, just as I had done to him yesterday.

"Seriously, we're going," Alice snarled.

"I don't mind," Edward murmured, knowing she could hear us.

"Edward," I mumbled, fighting for coherence. "Ness…"

"I'm fine, don't you worry," Renesmee assured hurriedly. I knew she was eager to be out of the house, but again there was not a hint of resentment in her voice.

I felt guilty for leaving Renesmee, I did, until Edward pulled down my tights and started to use his tongue on the spot that made me even forget my own name, and there was nothing I could do — that I wanted to do — than surrender to the glorious sensations and give in to the shattering climax that Edward's skills let wash down over me.

We only missed Health Science, eventually. We walked into Psychology together, insanely content. Alice's fierce scowl did not even bother me as Edward and I sat down in the front of the class, taking the last two free seats.

"We should do that more often. It prevents buffer overflow," I whispered lowly.

"I couldn't agree more." His impish grin made me laugh, earning a glare from the teacher.

The hour passed quickly. Edward and I didn't tease each other, we didn't feel the need to. We knew we were going to have two hours of study hall together, and knowing that we would 'meet in the middle' made me entirely content to wait. Plus, today would not be as insanely long as our Mondays.

And Wednesdays.

And Fridays.

_Crap._

However, I actually found myself able to pay attention to the current lesson, and discovered that I really liked the subject. I even took notes, which was ridiculous and did earn me a sarcastic snicker from Edward. But then, when I started to write down what I wanted to do to him when I got him alone again, his look got hard and warning.

The man was _impossible_ to please.

During first break, Jake and Ness and Emmett and Rose joined us to chat a little.

"Ness," I started, apologetically, but she waved it away.

"I don't want you to apologize, and I don't want to talk about it," she said simply. Then she took my hand and showed me her morning, her mood turning happy again with all her new experiences. Her two new friends had chatted with her again, telling her that they'd really liked their trip from the day before. I smiled. She was happy, I was happy. It was a simple equation.

Still. I felt horrible that I'd let my love for Edward take us away from our parental duties. Renesmee could assure us time and again that she didn't matter, that she knew about the bond between mates, that she was old enough to take care of herself. I still felt tortured to have left her.

Renesmee noticed my distress and simply showed me that she'd found it pretty awesome to go to school on her own. Because, after all we _were _her parents and it _was_ kind of awkward that we were in the same high school as she.

So in her way she thanked us for leaving her be. Silly girl. The need to please she had clearly inherited from Edward and I both.

Today I found I had more room in my head to pay attention to the world that was not Edward. I noticed how loud the buzz was of the students talking and moving around us. I noticed how many people were staring at us. I noticed I could tell the difference between staring, looking, and checking out. I noticed how many guys were looking at me and my sisters. I noticed that my hackles rose as I saw how many boys were looking at Renesmee. I didn't even bother to start to listen to separate voices in the hallway. I decided I needed some distraction, and looked back at my daughter.

"Where's the Dana girl? I don't see her," Rosalie asked then, looking around.

"All the better," I replied happily. "Maybe she died."

"Maybe she didn't," Jacob muttered, jerking his head to the left.

"Oh, _cock_," I cursed. That girl brought out the worst in me.

"Excuse me?" Edward asked, eyebrows raised.

Emmetts booming laugh silenced the buzz of the students in the hall for a second.

But sure enough, Dana was coming towards us, with her pack fluttering behind her.

"They travel in herds, apparently," I muttered, earning chuckles from all my siblings.

"Hi there, Edward," Dana crooned as she walked up to him.

I fought the urge to cover my ears. Her pack, I saw, trailed some distance away, whispering furiously at each other. I ignored them.

Edward looked at Dana, stoically. Then his eyes flashed towards Alice, before he looked at Dana again.

"Hello," he said politely.

I swallowed some venom. My eyes shot towards Alice, but she didn't look at me.

"So, are you having study hall as well after break?" Dana was eyeing Edward's body in the tight longsleeve he wore. Of course, if I could see every ripple of every muscle in that sweater, Dana would notice it as well.

I had to look away to hide my grimace. I swallowed some more venom.

"I believe I do," Edward said flatly.

"Because I could help you study," Dana suggested. "Get everything set up with your homework, you know?"

I wanted to snarl at her.

I wanted to push my wedding ring under her eyes.

I wanted to kiss Edward in front of her, marking him as mine.

I wanted to slap her in the face, with open palm.

I wanted to push her.

Through the wall, preferably.

"It's called jealousy," Rosalie murmured behind me, too low for humans to hear. "I need not remind you that there is no reason for that. You and Edward are mated, nothing will ever come between you."

I _knew_ that. Still. Gah. Ugh.

I couldn't claim Edward in front of her. Somewhere in my guts I could feel that it wouldn't help if I tried to solve the matter by explaining Dana that Edward was mine. And it felt very wrong to not be able to do that.

"I'm all right," Edward replied. Not two seconds had passed.

"I'd love to help you," Dana offered. Her voice was sickly sweet.

I swallowed some more venom. It was really disturbing that it tasted so sweet when _she_ was the one who brought it about.

"Some other time, maybe," Edward replied, then he turned to us, marking their conversation as finished.

Surprisingly, Dana got the hint and trailed back to her pack of friends, a smug smile on her face.

"I'll have him before Christmas," she announced confidently, of course unaware that we could hear her.

"I doubt that," I murmured, my voice acid.

Edward shuddered visibly, then looked at me with a pleading look in his eyes. My other siblings had been very quiet around us, spectators of the scene, providing silent support but completely baffled by this chain of events.

"What was that about?" Jacob finally asked.

"Wow," Emmett said almost at the same time. "Just, wow. For the record, I understand why you both reacted like you did last night. Really, wow."

"Mommy?" Renesmee asked softly.

"She is dangerous," Rosalie said, one eyebrow raised.

"She is," Alice said softly. "Especially when she doesn't get her way. I saw it just now. I am so sorry."

"No, don't be sorry for what you see," Jasper soothed, rubbing her arms. "Never be."

I was just looking at Edward. I didn't know what to say.

Then he suddenly broke out of his frozen posture and stepped to me in one long stride. His arms were around me in an instant and he lifted me up, holding me flush against his body.

His lips, when they met mine, were velvet glass, communicating a world of worry and love.

It took me a moment to realize what he was doing, and to give in to it. My hands found their way to his neck, weaving through his thick hair. I let his emotions wash over me, and when I found that I could not articulate my feelings in any normal way, I lowered my shield and let my distorted thoughts tumble about him. He held me tighter then, kissed me harder.

This was so much more than love. It was the _need_ Edward and I felt for each other, and right now it was so strong it felt unnerving.

When Edward finally let me go, the hallway was almost empty. I didn't realize the bell must have gone.

I looked at my siblings. "Sorry," I mumbled.

"No," Emmett said. "Never be sorry about something like this." He looked at me with sympathy. And I realized that he understood. They all understood. Even Jake and Ness, whose bond was as special as it could get.

"Do you want to go?" Rosalie asked softly. "You know, let out some buffer overflow?"

I looked at Edward and we both realized that it wasn't going to help us if we ran and gave in. I would _like_ to, but it wasn't a solution.

Edward and I both sighed, and kept looking at each other until he broke our gaze to look at our family.

"We'll go to class," he said. "You should all go. Look at us, all eight here, and the hallways are empty. So much for keeping a low profile," he snickered half-heartedly.

Yes. We'd kept it up for exactly one day.

We couldn't help it that we sought each other out. We all needed our mates around us. But we were a family with tight bonds. We helped each other out, from small little favors to life-saving situations. We never asked anything in return. We needed each other. It just was _that_ simple.

* * *

_So, I've kept this chapter short, which means you've needed less time to read and get more time to write a nice review for me :) Did you know it takes me anywhere between 8-16 hours to write a chapter? It'd take you 8-16 seconds to review. Just say: Yay, I like your work! You can copy-paste it if you want to ;) Reviews make it worth my while. They do!__  
_


	8. Study Hall

**A/N I don't own Twilight. I do own this plot. **

_After posting my previous chapter, which I thought was mediocre, I found my mailbox flooded with reviews and notifications. Thank you all so much, you have made my day._

_I'm not sure about this chapter either. I forced it out during a writer's block and I've re-read it so many times now that I can no longer tell if it's good. I want to stress once again that I'm not English so forgive me any annoying mistakes. _

_Still, enjoy! :) _

* * *

Alice, Jasper, Edward and I had study hall until lunch. The fun — and not entirely coincidental — part was that Emmett and Rosalie, and Jake and Ness also had study hall during fourth period. We could all be together then, and I could tell we were all looking forward to it.

We said our goodbyes and then the four of us trailed to the library. We didn't speak. I knew that Edward knew what Alice had seen, and I wasn't too sure if I wanted to know about it. Jasper was his usual quiet, contemplating self. I didn't feel any tension coming from him, but that didn't mean anything. Maybe we could talk about it during study hall.

It was very quiet in the library. There were more than enough workplaces for students — lots of desks with computers along the long walls, and tables that could seat up to twelve people in the middle of the room. Students were scattered around the space, silently studying or talking in hushed tones.

We took a random empty table and sat ourselves down. As we'd finished our homework for just about the whole week, there wasn't really anything for us to do. Alice and I took out some books anyway, to appear like we were studying. Edward produced a newspaper from his bag and pushed the sports section over to Jasper.

"So, apart from Dana, what do we all think?" Alice asked us almost immediately after we were seated.

"It's okay," Jasper shrugged. "History is fun, but that's more because of Bella."

"I almost feel guilty that it's only my first time and I'm actually enjoying myself," I said. "You've been through high school at least ten times, right?"

"Yes," Edward replied. "Plus multiple college loops."

"What do you want to do after this?" I asked them all.

"That kind of depends on you, and Ness," Alice said sweetly. "You're the youngest. You can choose and we will follow."

"What, really? I wouldn't want that. I want to know what Ness wants, though."

"Still," Edward said, taking my right hand under the table and squeezing it. I closed my eyes at the sensation and Edward squeezed again, letting me know that he felt it, too. "If you could choose whatever you wanted, what would you do?"

I thought about that for a moment.

"Study," Alice suddenly whispered, and we bent immediately over our books as if we were fully concentrated. Moments later, a supervising teacher walked by.

"Law," I replied Edward's question as the teacher had passed again. "I think I would like to try law."

"Really?"

Edward's surprise stung me. I put my finger to my chin and pouted my lips in a silly way. "What, like it's hard?"

"All right, Ms. Woods," Edward laughed. "I'd go with you, of course."

"What, you'd be her Warner?" Jasper chuckled.

"I'd be that teacher," Edward said suggestively, cocking an eyebrow and looking meaningfully at me.

"Please no," I laughed. "You know his name is Emmett in the movie, right?"

"Aw, gross, no, I forgot," Edward sputtered, laughing too. "Oh, _please_ forget I said this. And please don't mention this to Emmett. He'll be on a roll for decades."

The teacher came back again, he'd probably heard our laughter. We had a hard time keeping our faces composed as the man lingered around our table for a while, making sure we were going to keep quiet.

"You should get a dog, too, then," Alice continued once the teacher was out of hearing range again.

"What, another one?" Edward asked with a gleam in his eye.

"A tiny one. A Chihuahua. And call him Bruiser."

"Or Treat," Jasper snickered.

"Poor creature would die of fear within minutes," I mused. "Seriously, have you ever noticed how dogs react to me? It's different even than with you guys."

"That's because you're on a different frequency, dear. You mess them up," Edward murmured sickly sweet into my ear, lips grazing my earlobe as he spoke.

Although I shuddered at the sensation of his skin on mine, I smacked him on his arm for his remark.

And again a teacher came strolling by, lingering yet a little longer around us.

"Oh, no," Alice whispered then, and Edward tensed beside me. Just as I wanted to ask her what she meant, Dana's nagging whisper came floating through the library, as she was chatting away to her audience. I was getting the impression she really liked to hear herself talk. I sighed audibly.

"But I mean, he _did_ say 'hello' to me just now, didn't he? And he didn't flat out refuse me when I offered to help him. I'm guessing he's just shy. I got all rigid when I walked up to him."

I opened my mouth to ask Alice if she could not have warned us, but then again, I _knew_ she would have done so if she'd seen it in time.

"It's too late to get up," Alice murmured.

Dana took her time walking into the library. I saw that only Jodi was with her. The rest from her pack was nowhere to be seen.

Apart from the vile fantasies of what I wanted to do with her that forced their way into my mind, I just really wanted her _not_ to have any influence on our life.

So I continued our conversation, knowing that my siblings would welcome the distraction. Plus, Dana should see how close our bonds were. She should know that we were impenetrable.

"I don't know if Ness will want to go to college though," I started. "Jake is not the studious type, and she'll go where he goes."

"True," Jasper said, seeming to understand why I continued our conversation. "But Jake will go where Ness goes, too."

"Jacob could never be happy in college. He'd go because Ness would want him to, but it would make him miserable, which in turn would make Renesmee miserable."

"I'd like to see her educated, though," Edward said.

"Of course, that's not even a point of discussion. I was thinking that she might like it if you home schooled her."

Edward's face lit up at the prospect. "I thought that you would not approve of that, since you want her to go out more."

I shrugged at his assumption. "I do. But I don't ever want her to force into anything. Her life is complicated enough as it is."

"She's very happy though," Alice smiled. "She enlightens our lives."

Alice was very right, of course.

Dana had finally found her way through the library, her monologue only interrupted by one-word agreements from her friend.

When Dana noticed us, she finally stopped talking and took us all in. I was torn between staring her down and ignoring her. I chose to ignore her, bending over my book again. From my peripheral vision I saw her clearly enough. She wore skinny jeans with sneakers, and a tight red top that could not possibly be warm enough for this weather. But it showed her figure, and I guessed that had been her goal. Dana's make-up was abundant again today. I winced when I thought how sticky the amount of lip-gloss she wore must feel.

Jodi was wearing a hooded sweater, her blond hair bound together thoughtlessly in a ponytail. She looked thoughtful, tired.

"Hi," Dana greeted us while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked at Edward only, probably registering how he was sitting at the corner of the table, surrounded by his siblings. "May we sit with you?"

"If you wish," Alice murmured, not looking up from her study book.

I finally realized why this all was so difficult. Dana had done nothing wrong, yet, at least. She had tripped and let Edward catch her. She had not been mean. She had not done anything out of line. We knew her intentions, but she had done nothing wrong. Her questions were always polite, and impossible to refuse. She was a skilled manipulator. We could not be horrible to her, for she had not given us reason to. And she was too powerful in the social network of this school to be rude to.

I lowered my shield to let Edward know my realization, as Dana and Jodi were seating themselves down at a free corner of the table, sitting opposite Edward and Alice.

Edward nodded when he'd heard my thoughts. "With what I've seen from Alice, you're right," he murmured, too low for humans to hear. "She's a dangerous enemy to have."

"If it gets too dangerous, we'll leave, right?" I asked, alarmed, again.

"Of course," Alice soothed me without looking up. "You didn't think I would ever want any of my siblings be in danger, would you?" Only after her question did she look up at me, as if she was thinking about the answer to a question she needed for her homework.

I smiled at her. "You are my favorite sister, you know that, right?" I asked, whispering in a normal, human way.

With that, Alice hopped up, walked round the table to me, and kissed my cheek. "I know," she giggled, and sat down again before the supervisor came back.

Dana and Jodi had noticed our exchange. Jodi smiled sweetly before turning back to her book. Dana's expression was less friendly.

I wondered if there was any other way to claim Edward, since I could not undress him in the middle of the school library. I shifted my chair a little closer to him, feeling the buzzing electricity between us increase exponentially. Then I asked him quietly if he could explain something from Trig to me.

He looked up at me, knowing that I had no problems whatsoever with Trig, but understood my meaning and leaned in to me to start explaining.

I could barely keep the smug smile off my face when I saw Dana gaping at our closeness.

Alice snickered. "You are vile," she whispered lowly.

"I'm claiming what's mine," I answered simply, without looking up from my book, where Edward's slender hand was pointing out some details to me. His other hand was under the table, stroking my leg softly in reassurance. Alice huffed as she heard my soft purr starting.

"What do you think Renesmee would want to study?" she asked suddenly, in a normal whisper.

"Not fashion, I should think," I snickered, looking up from my book. I was finding it easier by the second to ignore Dana.

Alice clicked her tongue in an annoyed sound and sat back.

"But I honestly don't know. Have you any ideas about that, Edward?"

"No. She's into cars a little, but not enough to make it her profession, I think."

"She's good with animals," Alice then snickered, her body shaking in suppressed laughter. "She should do something with, I don't know, dogs?"

My laugh escaped and attracted the attention of the teacher. "Please, mind your volume," he said sternly when he walked over to us. I looked as petulant as I could muster, the corners of my mouth twitching as a laugh tried to escape. Edward's hand never ceased stroking my leg.

"Nah, she's already _doing_ something with dogs," Jasper pushed once the teacher was gone again.

"Oh God, I hope not," Edward moaned, rubbing his face. But I could see he was laughing, too.

Dana was glancing at us. It looked like she was trying to get a question in, but either she couldn't find the space or the words to engage in our conversation.

"What about you, Jasper?" I asked, trying to get a normal conversation going again. We were going to be thrown out if we kept laughing like this.

Jasper just shrugged, raking a hand through his impossible curls. "Haven't thought about it yet. Maybe travel some, first. Depends on what y'all do a bit, doesn't it?" His Southern accent leaked through his words adorably.

"Hmpfh," Dana interrupted, finally admitting that she had been listening to our conversation with rapt attention. "If I were you I couldn't wait to move out once I got the chance. You have a family of ten! Must be awfully crowded."

"We're very close," Alice said slyly, snaking her arm around Edward's back round the corner of the table and hugging him.

I saw Dana's eyes, and I did not need to read minds to know that she wanted it to be _her_ arms around Edward in that way.

Edward hugged her back and kissed the top of her head, making Dana's eyes get even wider. When I looked at her, she quickly looked down at her book again. A smug smile plastered itself on my face. I couldn't help it.

To my surprise, Dana kept quiet for a while then. "I like her this way," I whispered to Edward. "What is she thinking?"

"She's seeing how the lands lay. She wants to know how she can get me alone."

"Here's a crazy idea," I murmured, "let's just tell her we're together."

"Won't make a difference," Alice whispered. "In fact, she'll try even harder then, and she's a nasty enemy to have."

"Well, I'm not happy about this."

"Me neither, love," Edward murmured, his head inclined to me, his hand still reassuring on my leg. "But I agree with Alice."

"Then what do we do?"

"Keep our council," Alice said simply. "It's all too unclear to determine a certain path. Ignore her when possible. Until she tires of him."

"Can he not turn her down?"

"It won't stop her. You can't see into her mind, Bella, but I can. It has to be her own decision to stop pursuing me."

"I'd say a three month holiday on Isle Esme could help with that," I tried.

"Hmm, tempting, but no," Edward laughed.

Then Alice's face lit up and she took a breath to speak.

"Hey, Alice?" Edward interrupted her before she could make a sound.

Alice looked at Edward and her face fell. She pouted.

"Thank you," Edward said simply.

These two annoyed the hell out of me at times. But I could see through their silent conversations a bit now. Apparently, there was a holiday coming up for me. Yes and please.

"What's Jodi thinking of us?"

"Nothing but sweetness," Edward smiled. "She's perceptive, but in a very gentle way. She's so smart, but she doesn't seem to know it. But right now, she's worrying."

"Hell, even I could tell that. What's up with her?"

"Seems like her parents made her take all these science subjects, but she's not really a beta person. She doesn't get it and it stresses her out, but I think she could be really good if someone would take the time to explain it all to her. She's too shy to ask for help."

Well, that was a revelation.

"She's so sweet," I said. "What a shame to be worrying about pleasing your parents."

"It's what you have done for a very long time, dear," Edward pointed out.

"My parents rarely made me do anything I didn't want to."

"That, I must say, is right."

"Can you not help her?" I asked tentatively. Edward was an excellent tutor.

"She'll need to ask, Bella. I can't just walk up to her."

I looked again at Jodi, who was bent over her book, chewing on her pen. A deep frown was stuck on her face, her shoulders were hunched. Poor girl. And Dana wasn't a support, I guessed.

"I'll make her ask," I said, resolved.

I hated Dana, but there was something about Jodi I really liked. I didn't believe it for one second that she was anything like Dana. I could easily forgive her suggestion yesterday that she lure me away so Dana could have Edward for herself. Jodi wanted to please Dana, because she wanted to belong. She didn't see the way Dana bossed her around, or she didn't mind. And it was easy to see that Dana tolerated her because Dana could boss her around so easily. I decided to pay more attention to the rest of their pack. See how the bonds lay.

Our conversation had stilled a little, and we all were occupied in reading anything. Edward was still going through the newspaper, which was one of his most quirky habits, if you asked me. He had a blackberry in his pocket to provide him with the latest news, but he still liked to read the paper. He claimed it was nostalgia. I forgave him as he looked unholy beautiful when he was reading. 'Nuff said.

A soft rustle of cloth and a change in air and scent around me warned me that Dana had stood up. I followed her movements with my eyes still on my book. Just when I was about to look up, Alice hissed lowly, "incoming. Behave, Bella."

Before I could ask her what she meant, I smelled Dana's scent dangerously close to us. Dana had walked around the table with her Chemistry book in her hands, placing it on the table between Edward and I. She leaned over, making sure she was showing off her body, whilst pointedly ignoring me. Edward sat rigid, and as Dana pressed closer to him, I had to cover my hiss in a cough.

"Edward," Dana purred in his ear. He jerked his head slightly to get away from her. "Do you get this Chemistry problem? It seems like the world upside down," she grinned innocently, "me offering to help you out and asking your help instead."

Dana shifted her weight on her legs, so that the barely-existing curves of her hips were on display. She leaned with her elbow on the table, her upper body turned towards Edward.

If she wasn't careful, her boobs were going to fall right out of her top.

I had the distinct feeling that she wouldn't mind that.

I also had the distinct feeling that I _would_.

A low disconcerting rumble of a growl settled in Edward's chest. If I didn't know him better than I knew myself, it would have frightened me. It should have frightened Dana, or at least have warned her to stay the hell away from us. I knew humans could not hear Edward's growling, but the threat should be obvious enough. Alice kicked his chair to let him snap out of it anyway.

He manned up, swallowed thickly, and finally looked up at the annoying brunette. "I don't really get this, either," he lied. "I'm afraid I won't be able to help you with this."

But Dana wasn't put out. "Maybe we can go over this together," she offered, persistently. Then she looked at me pointedly, indicating that she wanted my seat. "Do you mind?"

Well, yes, I did, actually. But what was I to do? She was asking help with her homework. There was nothing wrong with that. The _way_ she was doing it came straight out of hell, of course. I chanced a look at Alice, but she shrugged.

Gritting my teeth, I got up and walked round the table, sitting next to Jasper, seething. Dana immediately sat down and scooted closer to Edward, obviously reveling when Edward started explaining Chemistry to her, however hesitant he was behaving.

Jasper looked at me with sympathy. He took my hand under the table and waves of calm washed over me. I glared at him and pulled my hand back out of his with force. I didn't want him to calm me down. There was no greater mind-fuck than seeing some girl seducing your husband and feeling al warm and fuzzy about it.

But, to be honest, it was taking quite the bit of control to not stalk over to this pity of a human and unleash my full force as a predator on her. I'd like to see her scared out of her wits when I would let her see my amber eyes turn black with anger, my lips curling and showing my razor-sharp teeth as I growled at her. Or snarled. Or hissed maybe, make it a real catfight. Hmmm, what a daydream. Making her cry with fear as I flitted around her so fast she could barely discern any movement at all. Appear behind her and growl as she stood unsuspecting. Uprooting a tree with one hand just to…

"Stop," Jasper whispered quietly. "You won't make it easier by letting your anger soar."

"I'd like to see you keeping your calm when some guy hits on Alice," I hissed. He didn't reply.

I looked at Edward and Dana. Dana had scooted closer still to Edward, while he was leaning away even further. He feigned to not understand anything, and provided little help. Dana really didn't get the subject, I learned as I listened to the questions she was asking Edward.

Edward was losing his patience. I could tell by the way his shoulders tensed up, his jaw clenched, and his eyes turned hard. I could read him like a book.

Then Dana looked up at Edward and put her hand on his arm.

She. Put. Her. Hand. On. His. Arm.

Edward looked pointedly at her hand touching him, but Dana acted as if she didn't notice his glare. Then Edward shifted in his seat, moving his chair away from her a little. She just moved with him. I saw his eyes turn black slowly. Something had to happen or either he or I would snap. I frantically tried to think of something to get him out of this. Then it occurred to me.

_The office,_ I all but shouted at him with lowered shield. His head snapped up to look at me. A dangerous mistake, but I didn't care right now.

_The Administrations office. We still have to cover for our skipped class_, I rushed.

Edward cleared his throat and got up immediately.

"Where are you going?" Dana asked. The disappointment in her voice was obvious.

"I forgot that I needed to go to Administration," Edward said curtly. And with that, he walked away stiffly, his anger and frustration showing in the way he moved.

I was all but hyperventilating by now with anger. This girl had not only tried to seduce my husband, she had also upset him. And I wasn't even sure which I found worse.

I wanted to get up too, to follow him, Jasper took my hand again under the table, and this time he didn't let go when I tried to pull back. I closed my eyes for a moment and gave in to his calming efforts.

When I looked at Alice, she smiled sympathetically. "Edward will be fine. He's walking it off."

I didn't reply, but got up, walked around the table again, and looked meaningfully at Dana with one eyebrow raised.

"Do you _mind_?" I asked, firing her own words back at her.

Realizing that she couldn't really refuse, she got up with a sigh, stared me down for a second, and walked back to her own seat.

I sat down in her scent — gah — as the bell rang and our first hour of study hall was over.

From opposite me, Dana stared me some daggers. I looked back at her, one eyebrow raised, daring her to challenge me.

Because, frankly, I would win.

I heard Emmett's booming voice almost immediately outside of the library. He walked in, an amused smirk on his face, hood of his sweater up. We'd told him time and again how menacing he looked when he did that, but he didn't care. He liked being perceived as dangerous. And right now, I didn't really mind. Maybe he could scare Dana a little.

Rosalie followed him, her heels softly clicking on the linoleum. Jake and Renesmee came a few minutes later.

Emmett looked at Dana pointedly before looking at us with one eyebrow raised, then let himself fall into a chair. For a moment I was afraid that the chair would give under his weight, but he'd controlled his strength very well. Emmett lifted his bag onto the table, wrapped his arms around it and rested his head on top of it.

"I think I'll just take a nap," he stated, before he closed his eyes. Rosalie walked past us to an empty pc close to our table. As she passed by, she looked some daggers at Dana's back, before her eyes flashed up to mine. "Okay?" she mouthed. I nodded, but my near-black eyes betrayed me.

Rosalie nodded once at me, logged on and started browsing through the news, utterly bored.

Dana looked at Emmett. She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it and bent down over her book again.

Renesmee came bounding up to the table, but reigned herself in when she saw Dana and Jodi sitting with us. I saw she could smell Dana's scent thickly where I was sitting. Then she took Edward's seat and brushed her hand against my knee under the table, firing questions at me through her memories.

"Calm down," I said softly. "Nothing's wrong. Edward is at the office, he'll be back soon."

Her memory of my dark eyes flashed into my mind.

"I got a bit mad. But I'm okay now, especially since you are here." She did not need to know what had happened.

She smiled at my reply, reassured. Then she looked at Emmett, who was still lying with his head on his bag, eyes closed.

"What's up with him?" she asked out loud.

"He's _sleeping_," Alice answered.

"Really? Wow," Renesmee laughed. Then she got up and walked round the table, bringing up her hand carefully towards his ear. Emmett ignored her, keeping his eyes closed.

"Don't hold back," Alice suggested slyly.

Renesmee smiled a very recognizable crooked smile and flicked Emmett's ear with all the force she had.

"Ow!" he yelped, causing almost every student in the library to look up at us. "What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his ear. Knowing Renesmee, she'd probably really hurt him.

"Don't sleep in school," she chided him sweetly, ruffling his hair. Then she danced back to my side of the table, taking a seat at the corner to my left.

She and Jacob started their homework almost immediately. I could tell that Ness was putting a great effort in tutoring Jacob. I was happy to see that she could help him, and that he accepted that help.

I could smell Edward before I even heard him and I had to hold back to not turn around and look at him before he even appeared in our sight. Instead, I inhaled deeply, trying to be inconspicuous. Alice and Jasper noticed of course and they grinned at me.

"Hey Ness, we were talking about college just now," Alice started, "and we were wondering what you would like to do after high school?" I was thankful that she was trying to lighten the atmosphere, so Ness would not be bothered by the tension that remained from what had just taken place.

Ness looked up at Alice, surprised, then shifted her gaze to Jacob before she looked back at Alice again.

"I don't know if I'm going to college," she hesitated.

"Of course you are," Jacob insisted.

"Not without you I'm not," Ness retorted.

I saw Dana shifting her gaze between the two of them talking like she was watching a tennis match.

"What if you could choose whatever you wanted?" Alice pressed.

Ness was silent for a while. "I haven't really thought about it," she admitted. "But I'll think about it, if that's what you want." She looked at me with her last words.

Edward had joined us again and acted as if he hadn't heard our entire conversation. I was pleased to see that he had calmed himself down again somehow.

"About what?" he asked.

"College. I don't know yet what I would want."

"That's okay," he soothed. "You have years to decide."

As Edward sat down again, I saw Dana's eyes on him, and she licked her lips as she saw his lean body move.

I wondered if it would do serious harm if I aimed my pen hard and accurately enough at her.

"It would," Alice whispered, having seen my intentions and understanding them as musings.

I laughed at that, I couldn't help it. But I raked my hand through my hair in a rare territorial gesture, making sure Edward caught my scent. He closed his eyes a moment as he inhaled softly, luxuriating it seemed.

"We suggested you should do something with animals, since you're good with dogs," Jasper continued, talking to Renesmee. It took effort for him to speak normally, he was so tense.

Jacob's head shot up at this, but he knew he couldn't react. He shot a sufficient glare, though. Luckily Dana was so engrossed with trying to flirt with Edward that she didn't notice.

Renesmee burst out in the most adorable giggle fit I'd ever heard from her, a faint blush coloring her face. Edward melted at the sight. He loved it when she blushed.

"Oh, then I should get you a dog whistle," Emmett suggested with an evil gleam in his eye. "Although they tend to follow you everywhere anyway."

Jacob's glare intensified.

"A dog whistle would help Bella as well, for her new dog," Alice giggled.

"What dog?" Emmett demanded in turn.

"She wants to go to Law School," Edward clarified. "So she should have a Chihuaha called Bruiser to go with that."

"No, she should have a Chihuahua called Treat," Jasper pressed. Renesmee burst out in giggles again.

Dana lost interest as she could not get our in-jokes, but kept listening. She was poor at hiding that. She flicked her hair in a practiced gesture, and a frown flashed across her face when Edward wasn't looking. Jodi seemed completely lost in her homework, but I could somehow tell that she was enjoying the easy banter between our family. I could also tell that all of my siblings liked her in some way, and made sure that she was not the one we made feel unwelcome.

Emmett, in the meantime, had caught the reference to the movie immediately. "Oooh, I could be that teacher," he suggested, wagging his eyebrows at me.

"There is absolutely _nothing_ I would want to learn from you," I laughed.

"Hey, I have skills!" he protested.

"No, Emmett, don't go there, please."

"Hey, baby?" Rosalie then asked from behind him, as if she hadn't been listening to us.

"Yeah?" Emmett asked, leaning backwards over his chair so that he was looking at his wife upside down.

"Want to know about skills?"

"Always," he replied, still hanging upside down.

"I finished tuning your Dodge yesterday," she said, without looking around at him. She still was browsing the net.

Emmett sat back up again, a big smile splitting his face in half. "Sa-weet!" he boomed, breaking the word into two syllables. Then he turned back to Rosalie. "Hey Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Marry me?"

"Yeah, okay," she answered, still not looking at him.

"Excellent," Emmett said smugly, looking back at us.

Edward laughed and bumped fists with Emmett over the table, playing along.

"Yay!" Alice squealed as softly as she could, clapping her hands.

Jasper just rolled his eyes.

Apparently, Rose and Em would marry, again, soon.

The looks on the faces of both Dana and Jodi were priceless.

The supervisor didn't agree with us and came to warn us kindly but sternly that we would be asked to leave if we didn't get our volumes down. Only now did I realize that just about the whole library had heard this last exchange between Emmett and Rosalie.

I snickered once the supervisor was gone again. Around us, excited whispers started.

"I won't be your bridesmaid," I said, and added in a whisper so low no human could hear, "again."

Emmett looked up at that addition and laughed.

"Jake could be," Renesmee snickered. "I'm guessing he'd be stunning in a dress."

"Wow, what's up with you all today?" Jake grumbled, raking a hand through his hair.

"You're just an easy target, is all," Alice winked at him. "And you _bite_ so sweetly."

"Aw, guys, seriously!"

I reached out past Ness and ruffled his hair, something I used to do frequently when I was still human. "We love you, you know that right?"

"Yeah, when he's sleeping," Edward snickered.

Jacob rolled his eyes, bit back a reply that would probably be too exposing, and bent back over his book again.

Edward had placed his hand on my leg again, under the table. He wasn't teasing me, but touching. Then I realized he was writing something on my leg with his fingertip.

_I. Want. You._

Hmmmm…

Edward's chuckle let me know I'd probably made that sound out loud.

"Dude," Jodi finally whispered at Emmett, awed, "did you just _propose_?"

Emmett looked at her as if he only now realized what he had done. "Yeah, guess I did."

"But, wait, what? You're brother and sister, right?"

"Every guy wants to marry his sister if she's as pretty as Rosalie," Emmett stated, nodding vigorously to make his point. "But you know what?" he continued, leaning into Jodi conspiratorially, "she's not really my sister. She's my girrrlfriend," he whispered, drawing the word out.

I shook my head, laughing again. Dimples as well as vampire charm. Poor girl.

Jodi looked at him, dazzled probably, before she looked away with a fierce blush on her face.

I was afraid that Dana and Jodi would want to know more about this, but they seemed to be too stunned to ask for details.

"Wow," Jodi finally breathed. "You're adopted and you found each other. That's quite romantic."

"It is," Alice agreed.

"Did you really just propose?" Jodi asked Emmett again.

"Shut up, Jodi," Dana hissed.

"They were engaged already," Edward lied paradoxically. It was a lie too little, too late, but humans tended to be unobservant.

Jodi looked up at Edward in surprise, and blushed again to find him looking at her. In contrast to Dana's gaze on him, I found it endearing to see how Jodi reacted to him.

"Have been for months. He's just messing with you," Edward continued, then he winked at her.

He _winked_ at her.

I cocked an eyebrow and was about to ask what the hell he thought he was doing, when I saw Dana's reaction from the corner of my eye. She was seething, furious, burning with anger that Edward flirted with _Jodi_, not with her. Jodi flushed crimson, tucking her hair behind her ear nervously and looking anywhere but at us.

I had an evil husband. I coughed violently to hide my laughter. Alice was holding it together barely as well. Edward gripped his hand a little tighter on my leg, needing the contact. To be honest, I needed it too. I was getting worked up again for being away from him for so long, and after his encounter with Dana, I felt the need to reclaim him somehow.

Meanwhile, Dana had produced a small mirror and was applying more sickeningly slick lip-gloss to her lips, pouting them in a kissing movement as she went along. She was trying to be sensual, and she was stealing glances at Edward to see if he was looking. He wasn't. He was looking at the newspaper that was still spread out before him on the table, but even from the side I could see his eyes were dark with need.

Alice looked at us intently for a moment. "Behind the Gym. You'll have fifteen minutes until lunch." Her whisper was soft and reassuring.

I nodded and stood up, announcing that I wanted to go to the bathroom before the lunch crowd came out. I mouthed 'sorry' to Renesmee. I felt like I left her alone way too much.

It was all I could do not to run. I hid behind the Gym building, unnoticed.

Edward was with me within minutes. I took him in as he stalked towards me, unable to move or to meet him. He pushed me against the wall of the building forcefully, pressing his body flushed against mine, his left knee pressing between my legs. His hands were in my hair and his mouth was on mine in an instant, eager, pressing, but also asking. Asking reassurance, certainty, strength and support.

My hands snaked around his waist and pulled him against me further as I grabbed my own forearms for leverage. His soft groan made me hold him even tighter.

"Tell me we can do this," he murmured between frantic kisses. "She's driving me insane."

"We can do this," I said, reassuring myself as well as him. I pulled back one arm so I could wrap it around his neck, weaving my fingers through his thick hair and touching the nape of his neck that was so sensitive to him.

We kept kissing until the fever died down a little, until they became soft caresses of love.

Then Edward pulled back suddenly, and I whimpered at the loss of contact. He stepped back, and a moment later a supervising teacher appeared. I turned away, not wanting to face the man.

"Bella, Edward?" It was Mr. O'Neil.

"Hello, Mr. O'Neil," Edward said pleasantly.

"Is everything all right?" Mr. O'Neil asked.

I heard him walking towards us. I rubbed my face in frustration.

"Yes, Mr. O'Neil. We were just talking. Bella is having a hard time with moving here," Edward lied smoothly, probably using the fact that I refused to look at the teacher. I might as well have been crying and not wanting to show my face.

"I thought she did," Mr. O'Neil murmured, obviously thinking that we couldn't hear him. "Well, Bella, know that I'm here for you if you want to talk, okay?"

I just nodded my head, not looking around. It would have to do. And it did — Mr. O'Neil walked away again, mumbling something I didn't care to listen to.

Then Edward's arms came around me from behind me, and I melded into his familiar shape as he kissed my neck.

"I hate what Dana did, but then I thought it was pretty easy to ignore her during the second period," I said, leaning my head back to rest on his shoulder.

"Yes, she was mostly observing us during that second hour. And with all eight of us there, she was intimidated enough to not be as bold. She's more dangerous when one on one with someone, or with her pack of friends." He held me tighter against him and hummed softly in my ear.

"I'm guessing I'll be running into them soon?"

"Soon." It almost sounded as a promise.

"Do you find it easier to go through the day as well when we simply touch?" I asked then, changing tack and scooting closer to him.

"I do," my husband answered. "It's not half fulfilling, but it's better than the teasing. I am sorry about what I did yesterday."

"Me, too. Well, not for the teasing, but for making it so hard on us."

A familiar smell of something deliciously edible combined with the world's best, most delicate perfume trailed towards us then, shortly followed by the sound of a heartbeat that was the rhythm of my life.

"Yes, found you," I heard Renesmee's voice behind us then. She danced towards us and wrapped her arms around us both before we could stop her. "I love you," she breathed, and we hugged her back tightly.

* * *

_Well, what did you think? Please let me know! And as it seemed to work the previous time, here comes again a line to copy paste: Yay, I like your work!_

_By the way, I need your help. Will someone please help me and proofread one of my upcoming chapters? Let me know by review or pm and maybe we can work something out._


	9. Plans and Complications

**A/N I don't own Twilight**

(Long note!)

_Hello my dear readers! I was literally bouncing up and down and clapping my hands (insert Alice-like behavior) when I saw the response to my previous chapter. Thank you so much for all your reviews, you made __me feel very special. Thank you also for the anonymous reviews, I cannot reply to you personally but I got some words that warmed my heart, and I want you to know I really appreciate it that you take the time to write. _

_I'm running behind on my story. Real life is catching up on me, and details such as work, my boyfriend and housekeeping demand attention every once in a while... ;) I've also started a new story because the plot just tackled me from behind and I have to write. For me, writing is rarely a voluntary thing, it's compulsory :) _

_When I saw that my original chapter 9 was almost 12k of words long, I just cut it in two, which will give me some time to write more for you :) Because I do it for you!_

_Special thanks to navybrat4 for previewing my chapter and finding the one annoying typo ;)  
_

* * *

It was swiftly decided at the beginning of our lunch that Edward and I would take Friday 'off' from school for an us-day. Esme and Carlisle were very forthcoming when we called them and instantly offered to leave the house for us to be alone. I imagined that Carlisle had either been forewarned by one of our siblings, or completely filled in about the situation. Either way, he was okay with us ditching the day and would call the school to provide an excuse.

It was also swiftly agreed that Renesmee needed more attention and a father-daughter day was planned for Saturday. Jacob grumbled something, but Alice shot him a look that sufficed to quiet him. So Renesmee would have her day with her father, and her smile when he told her she could decide whatever they wanted to do, put the dazzle of the sun to shame.

"You can go to La Push," I soothed Jacob. "Don't tell me that you wouldn't like to spend some time with your brothers, alone."

"My _imprinted _brothers, you mean? They're as bad as I am, Bells, they won't leave their girls."

It took me one phone call to Billy Black to arrange a girl-free Saturday for the wolves. I just called in the canteen during lunch, and didn't get caught. I was on a roll.

Dana was with her pack at a table across the canteen. She was looking at us constantly, which was annoying because it meant we had to eat something to keep up appearances. Eating human food was something I never really managed to learn. Food was all too horrible. The texture, the taste, the _smell_…

Seriously _gah_.

I was also the only vampire known to be able to gag when forced to eat human food. For real.

"Hey Jake, switch chairs with me?" I asked when I saw Edward preparing to eat something I did not dare to decipher.

For once, Jacob did not ask, but stood up and took my seat. I took his and was now sitting with my back to Dana and her pack, so she wouldn't notice me not eating.

"Oh, you evil girl," Edward grinned.

I chuckled, but looked away when Edward took another bite of something violently putrid and suppressed a shudder.

I wondered how horrible it was that I thought the prospect of eating food was more horrible than Dana checking out my husband, but I pushed the thought away. Eating food had to do with blending in, with taking responsibility. And Cullen responsibility was more important than any girl looking at my Edward.

Jasper was toying with an apple. Alice was looking annoyed, but finally broke off a piece of bread and ate, keeping her face wonderfully composed. Jacob was eating like he'd been deprived of food for weeks, and Renesmee was nibbling on chocolate, again.

"Oh, Ness," Alice then said, after having swallowed with some effort, "we're going Christmas shopping after school today."

"Now _that_ is an excellent idea," Renesmee grinned. Somehow, Renesmee was the only one of us who could tell when Alice was feigning a vision and when she actually had one. And apparently, Alice's proposal was indeed a proposal, although her choice of words implied otherwise.

"We want everything golden this year," Alice decided, probably relying on a real vision again this time.

"Do we need to bring a tree as well?" Renesmee queried.

"I have reason to believe that Emmett will provide a tree," I mused, thinking back on the previous night.

"One that fits _inside_ the house," Renesmee added, to finish her question. She knew Emmett so well.

"I'll make sure of that, Ness," Jasper said quietly.

I looked at him. His eyes were dark, he was having a hard time being in the canteen like this, with hundreds of warm, pulsing bodies around him. He would have to hunt tonight.

Ness dipped her head in thanks. Then she turned to Jacob. "Do you want to come this afternoon? Make it your choice," she added, knowing full well that he'd do anything she asked him to.

Jake raked a hand through his hair, rubbing his neck. A telltale sign that he was torn between his distaste for shopping and his desire to be with his girl. "If you want me to come…" he asked.

"No, I'm asking what _you_ want."

This road was a dead end, and Renesmee realized it quickly. When Jacob stayed silent, she made the choice for him. "Okay then. I want you to stay home."

It hurt her to say this to him, and disappointment flashed across his face when she voiced her exact wish.

I leaned into Jacob. "I think that Ness just wants some girl-time with Alice."

"No shit," Jacob rumbled, frowning but not able to go against Renesmee's explicit request.

"Yes, we can go and find you some lingerie as well," Alice told Ness, all energy at once.

"_Absolutely not_," Edward hissed, defensive.

Alice frowned at his intense reaction, but shrugged and winked at Ness. Edward saw this of course and groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose a moment before he rubbed his face. "Oh, Lord."

Alice and I laughed so hard at this that we had to hold on to our sides. Even Jasper came out of his tension to chuckle with us.

"Our family is so screwed up," Jake laughed, shaking his head. "I cannot even begin to describe this."

But I heard what he said. He'd said _our_ family, for the first time. I quickly glanced around the table and saw that everyone had noticed. A warm feeling of belonging nestled in my stomach and spread throughout my body. I loved my life.

I loved it even more when lunch ended and Dana had not approached us. I suppressed the nagging feeling that she was indeed biding her time.

In homeroom, we were the four of us again. Alice was keeping herself occupied by compiling a list of everything she wanted to buy for the first Christmas in our new home, ticking her wishes off her fingers.

"Alice, we'd like to have her home before bedtime," Edward said quietly, friendly.

"Sure, sure," Alice replied, scribbling away on the third page of her list.

Mr. O'Neil walked into the room, greeting us and letting us go about our business again. He sat back at his desk, observing the class and behaving in a very approachable manner.

I could hear Dana's pack easily over the buzz of the students. I glanced at Edward and saw that he was listening too.

"Hey Dana, I saw you in the library this morning. Where you actually sitting with the new guy?" A blonde girl with big eyes and — admit it — perfect eyebrows leaned over her table towards Dana.

"I was." Dana's voice was almost sultry proud. "I got Edward Cullen to explain Chemistry to me."

It physically stung to hear her say his name like that. I coughed away a growl and started doodling, to prevent I was going to sit too still while listening.

"Edward Cullen… Even his name is beautiful," the blonde girl who'd started the conversation said dreamily. "I'm guessing you've got the subject covered now." Her smile was sleek. "Or were you too busy looking at his face?"

Dana laughed. "He is extraordinarily beautiful," she mused. "And he smells exceptional. You noticed that, Rebecca?"

"Hell no, I'd never dare to come as close to him as you have done."

"Seriously, the guy must model. Else he should consider it," a third girl piped up. She had dark curls, and her clothing matched the rest of the pack. Tight top, skinny jeans, abundant jewelry. I could hear the clinks of her bracelets from across the room.

"I know, right? But you know what? I Googled him and there's absolutely _nothing_ to be found. I was hoping he'd have some pictures on his Myspace or something…" Dana said.

Well, we had of course our own Cullenspace intranet, where we shared everything with each other, but that was well hidden from the outer world.

"Damn. I want him. I'll have to pry him away from the rest of his family somehow. They guard each other like dogs and they won't let him get out of their sight. Especially his sister. What is her problem?"

_The fact that he's my husband would suffice._

"They're just very close, Dana," Jodi whispered.

"Oh, you're on their side now?" Dana sneered.

"Of course not," Jodi frowned, manning up. "I told you I will help you to get him alone. All I'm saying is that they probably have had rough childhoods and that's why they tend to stick together."

"Like that big guy and the blonde, you mean? It's really sick that they are a couple."

"Alice and Jasper are together, too," a fourth girl, who had been listening, said. "I saw them together on the parking lot yesterday. He kissed her."

"_What!_" Dana hissed, scandalized. "Why am I the last to know this? Laura, why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm telling you now, aren't I? So," she mused, "that's two of the men taken. And Edward is yours, of course. Too bad that Jacob guy is so young, although I can't believe he's only sixteen."

"My mom says she saw their father in the hospital yesterday," Rebecca interrupted conspiratorially then.

"Oh, your mom's a nurse there, right?" the curly girl breathed, excited. "What was he like? Did she say anything?"

"She came home all flustered, I've never seen my dad so angry," Rebecca laughed. "My mom says he looks about ten years too young for his age and she's sure he's had plastic surgery of some sort, but she also said that he's the most handsome and most charismatic man she's ever met. Whatever that may mean."

"It means she'd tap him," the curly girl snickered.

"Kendra!" Rebecca scolded, but they all laughed, a gossip-cackle that pierced my eardrums.

I frowned and placed my head on my folded arms. But, truth be told, I'd rather listen to this gossip for years then having to go through Dana's relentless flirting with my husband. I could handle any woman — or man — flirt with my husband, but Dana made me see red.

Edward chuckled under his breath and shook his head a little, before he tried to tame his hair again, his body stretching as he raised his hands to his head. From my vantage point, I could watch him unnoticed, and he knew. I bit my lip as I saw him move. Hmmm, he was such a treat in this shirt. Man-candy.

From the corner of my eye I saw Mark taking a seat at the table next to us. I tore my attention away from Edward and tried to tune out Dana's pack as well.

"Hi," he greeted me, tentatively but friendly.

"Hello, Mark."

"How are you? How's your second day so far?"

"Okay, so far," I shrugged. _If you left out the Dana part_.

"Nice. It's always hard to change schools. But you have quite the family to support you."

I smiled at that. "Indeed."

"You are so lucky, not having to write the paper for History," Mark sighed then. "I really don't know where to start."

Jasper and I had been let off the hook with the paper our classmates had to write for History: write Anne Boleyn's last plea for forgiveness. One that could have saved her from the scaffold and sent her to a nunnery instead.

"What have you got, so far?" Behind me, Edward's fingers softly started caressing the small of my back. I straightened up a little to better feel his touch. If I could still get goose bumps, my body would have been covered in it by now. I hummed my agreement, so low only my kin could hear.

"Um, not much. That's she's sorry for what she did," Mark said.

"That's it? And you have to be done by tomorrow?"

Behind me, Edward murmured something so softly I had a hard time to hear it. But I did: "However much I like you in this dress, it's really annoying that I cannot get to your skin this way."

Hmmmm…

Mark, in the meantime, nodded his agreement, fidgeting nervously with his fingers. I sighed, trying to be inconspicuous and trying to suppress the shivers Edward's touch and words sent through my body.

"You should stress the fact that she acted out of love," Edward said behind me, his hand never stopping its movements against my back. He shifted a little, so he could look around my shoulder at Mark. "Anne Boleyn was all about ambition, and that's what Henry started to hate about her."

"Wait, you don't take History, do you?" Mark asked a little confused.

Edward smiled his crooked smile. "No, I don't. But I like to read about it in my spare time." _Good at everything…_

"You wouldn't say," Mark murmured. "But love, you say?"

"Yes, try to make it believable that she acted for his benefit, not her own," I clarified.

"I think I can work with that." Mark tapped his chin as he thought. "Actually, it's not a half bad idea."

"And try not to let her say she was sorry. Henry would not have bought it. In the end, Anne would always have felt she was right. But you can toy with the sincerity of her motivations. I was guessing you wouldn't have so much trouble writing this, since you write fiction," I added then with a gleam in my eyes.

"Wow, you really won't let go about that, will you?" Mark laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand and blushing. I swallowed at the sight of his blood so close to his skin, but otherwise, I had my thirst perfectly under control.

Edward suppressed a chuckle behind me — I could feel his hand trembling against my back as he was trying to hold still.

"I love to read," I shrugged. "So yeah, I want to know what you write."

"Some fantasy. I never really let others read my stuff."

"Why not?"

"I'm not so sure about it. And it's not a typical hobby to have."

When I opened my mouth to ask my next question, the bell rang. Mark was relieved and went to pack his bag immediately.

One day, I thought, I would get to finish this conversation with Mark.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I was the last one in class. Edward had slipped out and I could hear him talking with Alice outside the room. It was too soft for me to hear, which alarmed me.

I swung my bag around my shoulder and started towards the door. Behind me, I heard Mr. O'Neil take a breath to start to talk, but at that moment Alice flitted back into the room. She took my hand.

"Come, silly. Can't be late!"

I frowned at her and was about to ask if she'd finally gone mental for real, but the force with which she tugged at my hand warned me not to be smart about this.

Outside, Edward was waiting for me. He tried to appear composed, but his face was tense. In an attempt to levitate things, he offered me his arm in a mock gesture of courtesy — although, considering Edward's upbringing it wasn't really mocking — and walked me to our music class. Alice and Jasper trailed behind us, on their way to their class.

"You're not going to tell me what that was about, are you?" I asked when we'd reached the music classroom in the basement.

"I'd rather not," he agreed. Then he cupped my face in his hands and leaned in to kiss me. "I love you. So much."

Before I could answer, he opened the door for me and we walked into the classroom, where Mrs. Blom was about to start her lesson.

Miracles could happen. Dana was not in this class.

Jodi was, and she waved a little at us when we walked in. She was alone at her table.

We sat down behind her and I looked around the room. I knew every face of every student by now, could tell who exactly was in which class with me. I heard some of them whisper about us, but I tried to ignore them.

Edward, I could tell, was tapping into the heads around us to see if all was well. I rested my hand on his leg underneath the table, and he relaxed a little.

It really was easier this way. Just to give in to the need to have bodily contact made everything bearable. It wasn't half fulfilling, as Edward had stated, but the teasing was inexcusable. It was fun, but dangerous. I'd missed a lot yesterday, because I was so focused on Edward. And I had the feeling that Edward hadn't been as alert as he could have been. These first days where important, we needed to make a good impression.

"What does everyone think?" I asked softly as the teacher was explaining some theory on chords.

It was like he had followed my train of thought for real, although I didn't recall lowering my shield. "That we're freaks. Good looking freaks," he smirked. "And the few who've seen us in the library simply cannot fathom that we really are so close."

"And they're afraid of Jacob and Emmett," I murmured.

"I thought you couldn't read minds?" Edward asked, mockingly surprised.

"I may be 'deaf', but I'm not blind," I smiled. "Won't be long before they both are asked to join the football team, I suppose."

"Emmett will graduate this year, so he won't be asked." A gleam came in his eyes. "Jake can always say he has bad hips or something. It's a common weakness in d—"

I punched his arm before he could finish his sentence.

"Bella, Edward, please pay attention when I try to explain something to you," the teacher said mildly.

Of course every student looked around at us to see what was going on. I was _so_ glad I could no longer blush.

When Mrs. Blom had returned to her lesson again, I put my hand back on Edward's leg. I couldn't help myself and slowly slid my hand up his inner thigh.

Edward cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. I looked up at him innocently, but he didn't push my hand away. We both needed the contact.

"I sure hope I won't have to answer a question in front of the class," he whispered, and I chuckled.

My gaze fell on the piano in the corner of the room. "Are you going to tell them you play?" I asked, nodding towards the instrument.

He thought about that for a moment. "Maybe not. I'll be doomed to help at every rehearsal and every class if they find out."

I nodded at the truth of that, my hand absentmindedly stroking his leg. A very soft groan indicated he was enjoying my touch.

"Do you feel the particular need to go to English after this?" he asked suddenly.

I knew what he meant immediately. "Not particularly, no," I replied. And not only because it was a class given by Mr. _Patrick_ O'Neil.

Then both Edward's and my phone vibrated simultaneously in our pockets. We looked at each other: "Alice."

Yes, we could predict our own futures as well, it seemed.

_Say, lovebirds, I know it's hard, but suck it up one more hour. O'Neil is drawing some very dangerous conclusions._

Dangerous conclusions? Did he know? What did he think? I turned to Edward in alarm, but he soothed me by grabbing my hand in my lap, entwining his fingers with mine.

"He's gotten the idea in his head that you are somehow suppressed by us," Edward whispered. "Relax, there's no real danger. But Alice is right though. We better go and try to prove our _innocence_." And with that, he shoved up his hand so that it directly touched my groin.

I barely could hide my surprised 'hey!' in a cough. I don't think anyone in the room bought it. I vaguely heard the teacher asking us to work in groups on a list of questions.

But the damage was done, and I saw Edward close his eyes and inhale as deeply as he could, a happy grin appearing on his face as he did so.

"You are _so_ nasty," I hissed, but I smiled in spite of myself.

"You shouldn't tease your sister so much," Jodi said quietly, as she turned around with her notebook in her hands. Although she could not know what had happened, she had noticed something.

"No, you shouldn't," I scolded Edward, but any fierceness was lost as I was still laughing.

Jodi smiled at that, looking back and forth between Edward and I. "I just can't get over how close you are," she said. "I mean, there are more kids here at school who are kin, but they usually don't even greet each other."

"We've all been through a lot," Edward said softly, affirming her own thoughts. "We support each other."

Jodi smiled and blushed a little at his attention. But she wasn't flirting with him, I could tell that. I would ask Edward later what she was thinking.

Mrs. Blom approached us. "So, do you think you can manage the questions?"

"I think we can," Edward smiled, eyes wide. Dazzle, dazzle.

Mrs. Blom looked at him a beat too long. Then she snapped out of her trance. "Very nice. If you have any questions, just ask," she stuttered, before walking away again.

As we worked through the questions together, it became clear that Jodi was struggling. She didn't speak up however, and although I knew Edward would know what was going on, she'd have to speak for herself.

She walked with us to English. "Last class for today," she said wistfully. Then she looked at us. "Are you going to the Christmas party?"

"We don't know yet," I shrugged. "Are you?"

"Maybe, if I someone asks me. I don't want to go alone. And I can only go if Dana does," she added. Then she looked up at us, shocked, as if she had said too much.

I really didn't know how to reply to that. I never understood these social rules in packs like Dana's. Jodi smiled weakly and was pleasantly surprised when Edward gestured for her to enter the class first. In the door opening, Edward pressed he front of his body flush against my back for a tenth of a second. It was enough to set every nerve ending on fire.

"You still owe me," he breathed in my ear, lightly touching my upper arm.

I knew better than to turn around — I'd probably throw him over my shoulder and make a run for it if I saw his eyes now.

"What?" I asked.

"You promised me some things yesterday, in Biology and before we went to the meadow."

Ah, the little thingy I'd showed him when he wouldn't give me my keys back.

This time I did turn around. He didn't budge, so I was standing so close to him my chin rested almost on his chest as I looked up at him.

"Maybe," I said, instantly stepping away again and walking towards our table. "If you're nice."

"That's a hard demand for one inherently evil," he murmured, sitting down next to me.

I suppressed a chuckle and turned my attention to the lesson. When Jodi looked back once, she smiled at us, and we smiled back. Dana was seething, and I could easily imagine a little thundercloud roaring above her head.

_Tee hee hee._

Although Mr. O'Neil really was an engaging teacher, I found I could not pay any attention to the lesson. Edward's hand had found its way once again up my leg and was caressing me purposefully.

"Where do you want to go later?" he murmured.

"Somewhere remote and…" I hesitated as I looked outside. Rain had started to pour. "…dry?"

Edward smiled widely at that. But I was serious. It kind of killed my buzz when I felt the wet mud slipping underneath me. Plus it was a disaster to get the muck out of my hair afterwards.

"We can just go home," I proposed, scribbling notes while I spoke. "I like the notion of a hot shower and a soft bed. And Ness won't be there. Nor will Alice."

"Jasper will be staying away as well then," I heard Jasper's low rumble from the other side of the room. Alice looked around him, mouthing something obscene at us.

I burst out in giggles and bit my knuckles to not let it transform it into a full laughing fit.

Edward looked at me questioningly.

"I'm sorry," I said, 'it's just all so incredibly absurd I can't wrap my mind around it. Look at us, here, in high school. We're basically newlyweds, you are harassed by violent teenage girls that cannot seem to get the message. And we don't even know how to manage to stay away from each other for a given amount of time."

"It took Rose and Em a solid decade and then some," Edward agreed.

"Then why didn't we take that time? We're _parents_, for heaven's sake. Our daughter is supposed to be in prep school right now, but here she is, college sophomore. I'm so scared that it will backfire on her," I trailed off, happy mood disappearing fast.

"Relax, she's having a blast," Alice murmured from the other side of the room. "Believe me."

I got her message, but ignored her. This was a conversation between Edward and I. "I feel like we're failing as parents," I confessed. My shoulders hunched as my guilt came down on me.

Edward couldn't help himself and gently placed his hand on my shoulder in reassurance. He leaned towards me and whispered seductively in my ear, "you are, by far, the best mom in the world."

I wasn't all too sure about that.

"And the most sexy one."

I wasn't too sure about that, either.

Then Edward's hand disappeared again and as I looked up, I saw that Mr. O'Neil was looking at us.

I shrugged, daring this man with his fascination for big families to question what had just taken place. If even a hand on a shoulder was considered 'public display of affection,' or suppressing in any way, then it would be hard on us all.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Renesmee.

_Can you please not show daddy my next text?_

I replied with a simple 'ok.'

_Can I ask you a favor?_

Always, of course. I let her know.

_Can you shield me once we get back home later? Aunty Alice has promised me to buy some lingerie and I don't think dad will agree._

I chuckled and glanced at Edward, who was looking studiously ahead. As if he didn't know what was going on.

I replied.

_So, you're setting me up against your own father now? That's not how I raised you!_

The reply followed instantly.

_Thank you so much! You are the best mom in the world! IloveyouIloveyou!_

Although I melted at those words, I had the distinct feeling that they were not entirely coincidental.

"See?" Edward whispered, his crooked smile making me want to believe _anything_ he said in that instant.

"Sure, sure," I huffed.

We stayed silent for a while. Edward's hand appeared on my leg again, stroking lazy circles and rousing the electric current between us.

"I can't wait to get you alone," he breathed in my ear.

It took me serious effort to not let my moan escape. I was sorely tempted to ask him what he would do to me then, as my phone buzzed again.

_Shit, guys! Seriously! -J._

I looked to my right and saw Jasper indeed having a hard time as the lust must be rolling off us in waves. I mouthed 'sorry', but he didn't acknowledge it.

Dana was looking around at us, appraising us it seemed. I caught her eye and cocked my eyebrow at her. She shot me some daggers, but when I wouldn't break the eye contact, she finally looked forward again. She was obviously displeased with Jodi, as she did not say a single word to her.

Thank the heavens the bell finally rang, and we were released from this purgatory.

"Bella, do you have a minute?" Mr. O'Neil asked when I was about to leave the classroom.

I looked at Edward, who was waiting by the door. "Can you stall Ness?" I asked him. _I want to see her before she takes off again for the rest of the day_, I added with lowered shield.

Edward nodded once, tense, and left the room.

"Sure, Mr. O'Neil. Is something wrong?" I asked as I walked back towards his desk, where he was sitting behind an intimidating stash of paperwork.

He chuckled and corrected me again. "Nothing is wrong. But please call me Patrick."

"Okay, Patrick," I tried not to wince at the unnaturalness of calling a teacher by his first name.

He thought for a moment. "Bella, I want to stress again that I'm here for you if you want to talk about something. Anything."

"Yes, I know that, and I'm grateful for that," I said carefully, wondering if I could leave now.

Mr. O'Neil hesitated for a moment. "Can I be honest with you?"

"I'd rather you be."

He smiled before he continued. "I have a distinct feeling that you are not at ease."

I huffed out a half-laugh at that. What else was I supposed to do? "It takes some time to get used to all the new things," I shrugged. "But I'll manage."

Mr. O'Neil looked at me for a long time. When I met his eyes, I thought I saw something else besides concern, but I didn't know what. As I inhaled again, I could smell Edward's familiar scent closer to the classroom door than it had been. Was he coming back?

"I think you're not only bothered by the move, Bella. You've been through a lot. Do you feel you can hold your own in your family?"

"Well, yes, I do, thank you," I replied, still not sure what this man wanted.

"You must forgive my directness," he said, "but the well being of the students is my concern."

"Mr. O'Neil, I'm not sure I know what you mean. Our family is very close, even though we're not all blood relatives. We take good care of each other."

He heaved a measured sigh, resting his chin on his fingers. "Of course you would be loyal to your siblings," he mused.

The hair on the back of my neck was rising. I was sensing a shift in the atmosphere, and not only because of his assumption.

"I'm sorry?" I hedged.

Mr. O'Neil looked back at me again, composed now. "Please know Bella, that I'm here for you. Even if you don't want to talk about it now, I'm here."

"Okay," I said hesitantly. I seriously had _no_ idea what he was implying.

Mr. O'Neil waited again. "There is nothing to be ashamed about, Bella," he said softly then. "Don't ever feel like it is your fault."

Holy hell? He had me fidgeting in real anxiousness now. What on earth was this man talking about?

Just as I wanted to stutter a reply, I was cut off by Edward's voice.

"Bella." His voice was flat with suppressed anger, and in his intensity he sounded demanding. As I looked around, I saw him standing there, holding his arm out to me, indicating that I should come. His eyes were black and he was not exactly pissed, but on his guard. I saw it in the way he tilted his head, the way his neck was stretched and his shoulders were tense in his alertness. Although the causes were usually unpleasant, he was simply godlike like this. And I could not — would not — wait one second longer to be in his arms, to be home again.

"I really have to go, Mr. O'Neil. Thank you for your concern," I said hastily as I very nearly ran towards the door of the classroom.

"Anytime, Bella. Know that you can come and talk to me, anytime," Mr. O'Neil pressed, as he switched his gaze between Edward and I.

Edward, I noticed, shot one last look at our homeroom teacher before he looked at me and composed himself.

"Oh my God," he murmured as he guided me away from the classroom, towards our lockers. The hallways were crowded as it was break. In the buzz I could not ask Edward what he was thinking.

We trailed to our lockers to get our coats, and I noticed how students were reacting to Edward's defensive air.

"Calm yourself down," I hissed at him. "You're standing out."

He rumbled in response, and I hoped the students couldn't hear that.

Renesmee was waiting by the car, and her gaze shifted from excited to anxious when she saw Edward's tense face.

"Dana again?" she wondered.

"No, dear." Edward relaxed immediately when he saw my daughter. He pulled her into a tight hug, lifting her off the ground and making her giggle. And effectively distracting her.

Jake stepped up and took his turn pulling Ness into a bear hug, kissing her cheek with a loud smooch. They both blushed at that, which was adorable.

Alice and Jasper were having one of their moments in the background. I couldn't help it, I was still jealous sometimes of their intense bond.

"Go and have fun," I smiled as I hugged her as well. "Look at her go, two days in high school and already a woman of the world."

Renesmee made a cocky gesture with her hand and laughed as Alice finally lost her patience and pulled her towards her Porsche, around which students were crowding.

Jake, Jasper, Edward and I got in Edward's Volvo. Emmett and Rose would follow in Rose's BMW. I looked around the parking lot to see if they were already out. Edward chuckled as he saw me looking.

"They got detention _again_?"

I guessed right.

Jacob guffawed and we joined in. "You're basically newlyweds and you can control yourselves better than those two. They really—"

"Jacob," Edward said sternly.

"— like bunnies, don't they?" Jake continued, undisturbed.

"We're vampires," Jasper said simply by way of explanation. "We're sexual beings."

Edward glared at his brother through the rear view mirror. "Don't get him any ideas," he warned.

Jacob huffed at that. "You _know_ I do not think about her in that way."

Edward just looked some daggers at Jacob, who was sitting in the passenger's seat.

I wondered how soon Jacob's intentions would change, knowing what Renesmee would be buying today with Alice.

I reached around the headrest and softly traced my fingertips along Edward's neck.

"What's going on?" I asked softly.

"Nothing," he replied through clenched teeth.

"Oh, come on, Edward. You've gone from horny as hell towards morose and seething. Spill," Jasper scowled. "You exhaust me with your mood swings."

Edward said nothing, but drove a little faster.

"Talk to me, Edward." I shook his shoulders a little to make my point.

"It's that teacher O'Neil," he finally said.

I knew he would continue, so I kept silent. I was not entirely wrong.

"He thinks... Ah, crap. I don't want to talk about it."

We were on our driveway now, which gave Edward the chance to bail out of this conversation. He pulled to a stop and got out of the car, immediately appearing at my door to open it for me.

Esme appeared at the porch to greet us. "Where are Em and Rose?" she asked when she could not hear their Jeep.

"Detention," Jasper shrugged. Then he looked at us. "I'm going hunting. I'll be back when Alice gets home."

And with that, he was off into the forest. I felt sorry for him. He'd had a pretty hard day.

Jake was still by the car and he stretched, yawning. "I think I'll take a nap before Ness gets back," he stated and he disappeared inside the house.

That left Edward and I standing in the driveway, with Esme above us looking down, concerned. "The tension is rolling off of you and I don't even have Jasper's gift. Come in, let's talk about it."

Her sweet invitation was impossible to resist.

She'd created a cozy atmosphere in the living room, with a happy fire crackling away in the hearth. It was one of the many little ways she tried to be a mother to us. And right now, I had to admit that I really needed a mom.

"I'd give you hot chocolate if the smell alone weren't that vile," she smiled as we sat down. We chuckled half-heartedly, but after that stayed silent.

I scooted a little closer to Edward and put my hand on his leg, as he put a comforting arm around me. When he kept silent, I encouraged him to speak. "Talk to me, love. You have me worried."

He looked at me with a pained look in his eyes. "It's horrendous," he said softly. His fingertips caressed my upper arm absentmindedly.

"Then talk about it, get it off your chest."

Edward heaved a deep sigh and closed his eyes for a moment. He made a few attempts to start speaking, but checked himself every time. "O'Neil thinks I'm abusing you," he finally spat.

My breath hitched in my throat and Esme gasped audibly.

"_What?_"

His words came so fast they were almost a blur. "He thinks he's seeing the classic signals. He sees me looking at you, but doesn't notice how you look back. Outside he saw how I pressed you against the wall, because I didn't pull back in time. He saw me bumping into you, and then you turned and stepped away so quickly, he thought you were scared and I was intimidating you. When I placed my hand on your shoulder and you sat hunched, he…"

When I realized he wasn't going to continue, I finished the sentence for him. "He wasn't thinking that you were telling me I was the best mom in the world."

"Not exactly, no." Edward hung his head, defeated. I wondered if it was bothering him that the teacher had drawn the wrong conclusion, or that he thought he had given the teacher _reason_ to draw this conclusion.

"And then you got all anxious when he said that it would never be your fault," Edward choked, and something clicked. I had been nervous because I had no idea what the man was getting at. He had read my anxiety as a tell tale sign.

"Oh dear God," I breathed. "Is that what Alice was talking about?"

"Yes," Edward replied. "And me coming to get you, being all worked up because of his thoughts, only set him off."

"He's pretty quick to draw conclusions," I breathed. "He's only seen us a couple of times. We have to tell him."

"You do," Esme said softly. "It is a strange thing that he can misinterpret your love. I always thought it was pretty obvious."

"That's not all of it," Edward murmured then. When we waited for him to continue, he did. "He thinks he can _save_ you. Become your rock, your beacon. Your shoulder to cry on."

"And I can't even cry," I said. It sounded stupid, but it took some of the weight off the situation.

Esme got up and kneeled in front of us, placing each hand on one of our knees. "That's a very special form of altruism," she murmured softly. "But you can solve this," she said reassuringly. "Just go talk to him tomorrow. Tell him you're happy together."

Edward nodded slowly, once. "He became very sure about himself when I came back for you, Bella. I'm so sorry, this is my fault."

"No, Edward, please don't do this," I pleaded. "This is no one's fault. We'll work it out tomorrow. It'll be fine." I grabbed his left hand and kissed his ring finger. The platinum of his wedding band felt warm against my lips. When my lips released his hand, he moved it to cup my face gently.

"But we cannot just tell him," he whispered hoarsely. "Not before he has voiced his suspicions."

Suddenly, the awful possible realities dawned on me. Accusations. Inquiries. Social Services. Attention. Exposure.

"Oh, God," I gasped. "Oh, dear God."

"Sssh," Esme soothed us. "We've been in deeper water before. If you can't tell him, you can show him, right?"

I didn't know _how_, in a non-pda school. But we had to try. With a shock I realized that Mr. O'Neil must be interpreting Edward's dark look the same way as I had done when I was still human. He didn't see the love. He only saw the feral possessiveness.

Shit.

"And the girl Dana," Edward whispered then. "She won't stop if she knows we're together. She'll fight even harder. It's a game for her, a chase. Anything can be broken, according to her."

So this was what Alice had seen. How could I not have understood this? I had the distinct feeling that the ground I was standing on, was crumbling underneath my feet. And I had no idea how deep I would fall.

"She can't break us," I said, reassuring myself as well as I soothed him. I wrapped my arms around Edward and pulled him against me. I kissed his cheek. "She can't break us."

* * *

_And so the plot thickens... Next up: la-la-la-lemon, and Alice's vision. Finally. _

_As always, let me know what you think! Let me help you, and copy-paste the following line: Yay, I like your work!  
_


	10. Grounding

**A/N I don't own Twilight. I do own this plot.**

_Hello my lovelies! I am seriously blown away with all the reviews you treat me with. Thank you so much! Y'all seem to hold some serious grudge against Dana though, I wonder why that is? ;)  
_

_Endless, eternal thanks to SparklingInsanity who gave me the confidence to post this chapter and who has the uncanny ability to make me squeal and clap my hands in a very Alice-like way. Thank you so very, very much. I can't say it enough. _

_I've surrendered to Twitter, come find me: [at]DoobaWrites.  
_

_This chapter contains the long-promised lemon and... Alice's vision. But first, a Cullen Christmas tree. Enjoy!_

* * *

We stayed in the living room. Edward and I were holding each other, and Esme was still kneeling before us, hugging our legs. I barely noticed as the sky changed color and turned gray, then indigo, then black as the sun set.

Rosalie and Emmett came home after detention, saw us sitting in the living room, and left quietly for the forest again to give us some peace and privacy.

We talked and talked, about all our insecurities. I admitted that after these two first days, I really wasn't so sure anymore about our high school adventure. I was afraid that trying to blend in was too difficult for us. And I didn't like at all what had happened in these past two days. It seemed to be too much to comprehend, to find normal. Maybe because it was all so dangerous to us. And I didn't want to impose danger. Ever. Yet here I was again, with a disturbed teacher and a wicked girl, trying to come between Edward and I. Threatening to expose us.

"For what it's worth," Esme soothed, "Mr. O'Neil probably has only the best intentions."

"I doubt it," Edward mumbled. "Like you said, it's a _very_ special form of altruism."

I just huffed. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." The words came out in a hiss.

We talked some more. Edward had a hard time as he felt out of control. He couldn't get a grip on the turmoil of Dana's thoughts.

For this, he apologized.

Although Dana did plan some things, she acted on impulse a lot, which meant that he couldn't foresee her actions before she acted them out. It made it difficult for both Edward and Alice to protect us.

For this, he apologized as well.

It was no use trying to explain to him that this could not be his fault in any way.

For that, he apologized too.

I carefully voiced my concern that when we finally had felt a bit more like ourselves again at the end of this day, the O'Neil affair had started and we were badly shaken again. I asked them if it was always like this. I didn't mean the fact that we needed to be on guard – that, I knew. I meant the little things happening that made you feel like the ground fell away underneath your feet. It took all your might to try and see through intentions, behaviors, thoughts of humans. And it took so much effort and energy to fulfill the expected role in that 'human universe,' that it took hours to return back to normal again afterwards.

In short, Edward helped me out with a gleam in his eye, we were working ourselves up to a nice little intimate reunion when O'Neil had called and pulled us off that cloud without a safety net.

Yes, exactly that. Thank you, Edward.

Rosalie came back home, telling us that Emmett and Jasper were staying in the forest a little while longer. She sat down with us and asked me if all was well.

"You're not letting a human girl get on your nerves, are you? Because if so, I've failed as your big sister."

"She's getting on my nerves all right," I grunted. "I just want to know what she's up to. And there's O'Neil, of course."

"What, your homeroom teacher? What about him?"

I gave her a short version of the story. As I spoke, her eyes got wider and wider.

"You are still a magnet for trouble," she snickered, but her smile did not reach her eyes. "But seriously, I'd like you to sort this out quickly. I do not want to move again."

"No shit, Rosalie," Edward snapped, before I could reassure her. "This isn't about you, you know. Besides, you're dropping out as soon as you can, so why even worry?"

I squeezed Edward's knee to keep him calm. Although I had built a friendship with Rosalie, she and Edward were still far from BFF's.

"Are you planning on dropping out?" Esme asked, surprised.

"Nice, Edward. Something about thoughts and privacy?" Rosalie hissed, and Edward shrugged, his eyes dark with anger. Rosalie shot him some daggers before she turned to Esme. "Yes, we're dropping out after New Year's. The whole school will know by then that Emmett proposed to me, so we'll just use the inevitable rumor that I'm knocked up."

"Oh, Rosalie, no," I said. "Will that not be too painful for you?"

Rosalie looked at me, her eyes softening a little. "You gave me Renesmee. It's all I ever could have asked for. I'm still craving a child of my own, but the raw edges have softened since your daughter came."

"I'm so glad to hear that," Esme said inconsequentially, distracted from Rosalie's confession that she and Emmett would quit school as soon as possible.

"But what will you do?" I asked. "You cannot go out in public too much if you drop out pregnant."

"I'll see. I was thinking about opening a car maintenance shop somewhere with Emmet. He wants to help me with that. I want something different. I'm really sick of high school."

"Isn't that too dangerous? You could always go to college?" Esme demanded.

"Why would it be dangerous? I would see clients only once or twice. That's less risky than staying around the same student body for years."

"We'll need to discuss that with Carlisle," Esme said softly. "But if that's what you want, I'm sure we can find a solution."

A text message from Alice interrupted our conversation, warning me that she and Renesmee were just fifteen minutes away. As I started to listen for them in the back of my mind, so I could shield my daughter, I heard bustling from the woods near the eastern side of the house. Jasper had come back from the forest with Emmett. As they appeared on the porch, I laughed out loud. Both were exceptionally muddy, dripping wet with rain, and carrying one end of an enormous fir tree. The not-so-innocent gleam in their eyes made us all laugh.

"Tree put up a fight, guys?" Edward chuckled.

"Yes, but we effectively rendered it harmless," Jasper answered, shaking his head rapidly to send water and mud flying everywhere from his hair.

I just gaped at the tree. "Emmett, it's too big!"

"That's what she said," Emmett grinned.

"I don't think it'll even fit," I continued, realizing too late what I'd said.

Emmett guffawed louder. "That's what _she_ said!" He bumped his fist with Jasper, who was grinning from ear to ear. I was happy to see that he was relaxed again.

Esme was not so amused. "You, both. Out. You are ruining my carpet."

Just as Emmett and Jasper were trailing out to the porch again, I heard Alice's Porsche turning down the last corner of our driveway, which was about two miles long. I concentrated and quickly shielded both Alice and Ness. Edward looked at me, but didn't object, to my relief. After all, I think he knew Renesmee had asked me to do this.

I quickly ran upstairs to get some towels for my brothers. When I came back down, they were still on the porch, dripping with dirt and rain and looking contrite and very much like little schoolboys that have been told to stand in the corner. If it wasn't for the cat-that-ate-the-canary smile that they both wore on their faces, I might have believed them. I shoved the towels into their faces. "Don't go looking all petulant, just admit you had a mighty fine time."

They grinned, faces still hidden in the towels, and I laughed with them.

Esme, in the meantime, had taken the enormous tree to the porch, where she shook it firmly to get rid of the water that was clinging to it.

I laughed out loud at the sight of that tiny woman easily and gracefully handling a tree that was at least three times her size, but went to help her quickly. Edward was at my side, helping to get the tree into place next to our fireplace. The tree still had some of its roots, fortunately, and we placed in a big pot full of earth, hoping that it would keep its needles longer. The top of the tree very nearly brushed the heightened ceiling of the room.

I glanced at Emmet, then said in a high girl-like voice, "Oh! It seems to fit after all."

Emmett barked out a laugh that would have caused a ringing in my ears if I were still human. But he said nothing. When I looked at him, to see why he wouldn't kick this open door, he mouthed at me with wicked eyes and wagging eyebrows: "That's what SHE said."

I laughed so hard I had to hold on to Edward to keep myself upright, and he was laughing with me, probably more because I was laughing than because of the humor of the joke.

We didn't have time to admire the tree as yet, as by now Alice was parking the car in the garage underneath the house. Renesmee flitted out of the garage in an instant and gracefully leapt up to the porch instead of using the steps. She nearly knocked me off balance with the force she flung herself at me. She smelled like cold winter air, rain, shops, coffee and mostly, adorably, herself.

"I had _such_ a blast!" she breathed, before she pressed a firm kiss on my cheek. Then she turned to Edward, who got the same treatment. He picked her up in their embrace, swinging her around, and she giggled.

I could feel my still heart swell as I saw Edward blithe and happy again. I could feel my heart swell anyway, as it did every time I saw my husband with my daughter. I was a woman blessed indeed.

Alice and Jasper were having their own little reunion outside, in the rain, effectively ruining his efforts to get dry again. Alice's shopping bags stood by her side, forgotten. I could hear the raindrops ticking on the plastic of the bags.

Edward came to stand behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He kissed my neck and inhaled deeply. "I love you."

"I love you more," I whispered as I turned my head to kiss his neck in turn.

"I beg to differ," he smiled into my neck, before he released his hands and without warning, poked his fingers into my sides. I squealed in surprise and tried to smack him, but he was too fast for me, as always.

Rosalie appeared at the door then, shopping bags filled with Christmas decorations in her arms. Renesmee flitted outside again to get her bags as well, and then raced upstairs with one certain package.

I heard how she first went to into her own room before entering Jacob's room quietly. Although we did not really approve of it, Renesmee and Jacob gradually were seeking each other out in private more and more often. They were in a relationship, and we knew that. And they were slowly moving to a new level. I was consciously _not_ trying to wrap my mind around that as yet.

The soft rustle of fabric told me that Renesmee was lying down next to Jacob on his bed.

"Jakey," she whispered, before peppering small kisses, "I'm home. Wake up, sweetie."

A slight change in heartbeat and breathing indicated that he was rousing from his sleep. When a low grumble and more rustle of cloth implied that they were pulling each other into an embrace, I shut them out and went to busy myself with the Christmas decorations, pulling Edward with me by his collar. He played along and stumbled after me, holding on to me as if he had trouble to keep his balance.

Alice had outdone herself, as usual. Thirty minutes after they came home, a delivery van turned up our driveway and two young guys stepped out, clearly awed by the size of our house. One of the men looked to his right and his jaw dropped. The garage door must still be open with our car-and-bike collection on full display.

We all walked down the porch steps to meet the delivery guys. It was always fun to mess with unsuspecting humans a bit. They were now gaping at us, although they were trying to hide it.

"Ah!" Alice exclaimed, bouncing forward. "Our delivery! How lovely that you could come on such a short notice."

I gathered these guys had accepted some pocket money from Alice to deliver here after hours. Or maybe she'd just batted her lashes at them, I thought, as I regarded the men.

"Ma'am," one of the guys said, more than a little flustered. Then he walked round the back of the van and pulled open the door. "This all for you?"

"Yes," Alice breathed, "one can never have enough Christmas decorations."

Rosalie stalked towards the van in her high heels and peeked inside the car, ignoring the delivery guys who were now fidgeting nervously while seizing her up. "God, Alice, I thought you said you kept it small this year?"

Alice giggled and clapped her hands. "New homes need new stuff. You can put the boxes right here, guys, we can carry it up the porch."

"Oh no, ma'am, we're only happy to help you."

Jasper stepped forward and wrapped his arm snugly around Alice's waist. "Just here is just fine."

The subtle but very real threat in his voice made the man stutter something incomprehensible and he started to unload the van. The other guy stepped forward gingerly with some electronic device in his hand. "If you'll just sign here," he asked timidly.

"Oh, Alice, you did _not_ buy this!" Rosalie exclaimed from the inside of the van. We heard zippers, then a rustle of cloth, before she came out with Christmas hats and Santa Baby baby doll dresses, both red velvet with white fur lining.

She put on one of the hats and held a dress in front of her. Then she looked up at Emmett, looking questioningly.

"Oh, I like that," he nodded appreciatively. He wasn't the only one, as the delivery guy with the device was now positively crimson colored. Jasper saw, swallowed, hissed a string of profanities under his breath and disappeared around the house without a word.

Rosalie ignored this, wisely, and turned to me. "There's five of them," she grinned as she held one of the tiny dresses in front of me.

"Oh, I like that," Edward mirrored Emmett's exact earlier words. I didn't, but I let it go.

The delivery guys now did no longer know where they should look.

I got one of the hats from Rosalie and placed it on Edward's head. He looked positively adorable with it, and I made a mental note to make a picture of him with this thing on.

Edward wrapped his arms around me and held me closely, aligning his body with mine. I rested my chin on his chest as I looked up at him.

"You like?" he asked.

"Very much," I smiled, and closed my eyes as he leaned in to kiss me.

Rosalie put the dresses back in the bag and gestured for the delivery guys to start moving already. Alice left quietly to seek Jasper out in the forest, and Rose and Emmett and Edward and I stayed with the van to oversee the unloading of our Christmas decorations, making the guys very, very nervous indeed.

When the van was almost empty and the ground in front of the garage almost full, I shook my head and sighed. "Alice has finally lost her mind."

We waited impatiently for the delivery guys to finally leave us already, which they did after lingering longing looks at our car collection in the garage. Then we brought the Christmas acquisitions into the house in a matter of seconds, where we started to organize immediately.

Renesmee and Jacob joined us soon after. We put on Christmas music and had a great time decorating the house and dancing and singing along to the tackiest Christmas songs we could think of. Rosalie started to sing "All I want for Christmas is you," and Alice soon joined in with a crystal clear second party. We all looked up, pleasantly surprised, when Renesmee took care of the backing vocals with her clear and lovely voice.

Alice had gone overboard, as usual, so not a corner of the house remained bare. Ten red socks were adorning the mantelpiece, eliciting soft gushing sounds from Esme. After so many years you would have thought she'd have gotten used to it, but apparently this was not the case. Carlisle, who had come home finally after his double shift at the hospital, stood behind her, holding his arms around her waist and looking equally happy and proud.

We had a blast trying to decorate the Christmas tree. Alice had foreseen certain banter and just bought some of the frail glass decorations twice, which partly explained why she had needed a delivery van to bring all the decorations home.

It quickly became a sport to distract the one holding a delicate ornament, in whatever possible way, so he or she would lose focus and the ornament shattered. We would make a remark referring to certain embarrassing situations, or made some commotion in the background — the couch just barely survived Emmett tackling Alice to get Jasper to turn away from the tree, breaking the Christmas ornament while doing so. Even Esme joined the fun, by snaking her arms around Carlisle's waist as he was putting something in the tree. When he didn't budge, she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his neck.

Alice and Edward both started to laugh even before Esme actually lifted herself up on Carlisle shoulders and bit his neck — hard. He growled a laugh and very nearly took the whole tree with him when he tried to get Esme off his back.

Jasper had fun especially, used the full force of his empathic abilities, which he rarely did. It was the funniest thing to watch Emmett burst out into a giggle fit like a girl. Emmett was none too pleased, but there was nothing he could do (but giggle ceaselessly) while Jasper was having his way with him.

It was a release to have so much fun together, after a day that had brought so much tension about. Even Edward and Rosalie were on good terms again, it seemed. When we were about done decorating, Emmett lifted Rosalie on his shoulders so she could put the last detail in place: a piece of mistletoe by the door.

When she hopped down again, Emmett pulled her into a bear hug immediately, kissing her sweetly, intimately. Her tiny hands roamed his broad back as they stood in their embrace.

The rest of us just followed their example, I noticed, and I happily complied as Edward turned me to face him and took my face in his hands. He nuzzled me first, his amber eyes radiating love and happiness. Then he leaned in and kissed me softly. It was the kind of kiss that I had missed ever since we had started talking about moving and high school.

I sighed happily and let my body lean against Edward's. In return he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly, breathing words of eternal love into my ear.

**~O~**

After Ness and Jake had gone to their beds, Edward and I retreated as well. We took a shower together, to wash away the day and relax in each other's arms. We had our own bathroom in this house, a small tradeoff for our own cottage we had to leave behind in Forks.

When I reached for my strawberry shampoo, Edward beat me to it and poured some of the substance in his hands. He gently washed my hair, massaging my scalp as he went along. I leaned back against him, closed my eyes and let the sensations wash over me.

When he was done I wanted to reciprocate, but he wouldn't have it. Instead, he took my body wash and started to soap my body, making sure he covered every inch of my skin. Then he rinsed me and he restarted the process, this time without the soap. His gentle hands were followed by his gentle kisses. As he went along he massaged my arms, my wrists, my hands, and each of my fingers separately. The love that radiated from his eyes as he groomed me in this way warmed my soul as his touch set my body on fire.

His hands roamed further, gently rubbing my breasts, my stomach, down to my hips. His kisses followed every piece of skin his hands had touched, lingering here and there. He squatted before me so he could reach lower, pressing his cheek against my abdomen and inhaling softly as he massaged my calves.

I knew what he was doing — he was grounding. He had felt lost too, these last two days. I complied as he guided me to lift my right foot and placed it on his thigh, so he could wash and massage my leg. Then he peppered kisses from my inner thigh to my big toe. I giggled a little and he flashed his crooked smile, but I didn't mind at all when he repeated his actions with my other leg, this time starting at my foot and working his way up with open-mouthed kisses. I shivered in anticipation as he slowly worked his way up to the apex of my thighs. When he pressed his first kiss there, it was a good thing that his hands were on my hips already, because the leg I was standing on refused to do any other business as long as Edward was working his miracles on me.

It was a very comforting feeling to be held up by Edward's hands like this. I closed my eyes and let myself go, gripping his thick bronze hair as he worshipped me with his velvet mouth.

When I came down from my high he got up again and pulled me into his embrace, his arms around me so tight that my body bent slightly backwards to fit against him. I felt his arousal pressing insistently in my abdomen and hummed my agreement with my lips pressed against his neck as I let my hands roam his back, softly scratching his skin with my nails. I marveled as I felt his strong muscles move underneath his velvet skin.

When I pulled back to look in his eyes, I saw they were dark with desire.

"You have to let me reciprocate," I whispered. "You're burning up."

"I want this to be about you," he replied. His voice was low, hushed.

"Then just think this is about me, wanting to pleasure you," I breathed in his ear before I threaded my fingers in his hair and pulled his head towards me to kiss him. He complied and our tongues met, sending shivers down to my very core.

His hands trailed from my hair down my back, coming to rest as he cupped my rear. As we kissed, I let my hands wander as well, as they meandered down his chiseled chest, his ribs, his hips, before I stroked along down his abdomen, following the soft trail of hair that started just below his navel. He shivered and his breath hitched when I took him in my hands and squeezed gently.

Our kisses grew more demanding. And all the while the searing hot water came cascading down on us.

One hand disappeared from my body as he readjusted the direction of the showerhead. Then he pushed me back against the wall of the shower. The tiles felt warm against my skin. With his left hand, Edward guided my leg around his waist, and effectively took the lead again.

I lifted my other leg and Edward held me up between the tiles and his body, his hands softly but strongly, reassuringly, supporting my thighs. It wasn't necessary, but provided a delicate intimacy to our position. His hips pressed against mine, and I could feel his urgent arousal. I wrapped my hands around his neck, caressing the sensitive skin there, making him shudder. The water came down between us now, the small jets shattering off our skin. His long hair was sticking to his forehead and his eyes blazed underneath.

While we kept kissing, his right hand snaked underneath my leg and his fingers expertly sought out my most sensitive spots. My thighs trembled at the familiar sensations that soared through my body. I groaned into his mouth and he replied in kind, all the while working me with his knowing hand.

When a fuzzy fire started again to spread further from its core in my lower belly, his hand left me. He supported my thigh again and brought his other hand up to cup my face. I whimpered at the loss of contact, but he made good by lining up his groin and entering me in one smooth movement.

I cried out at the sensation, barely registering that Edward was urging me with his hand to look at him. He only began moving when my eyes finally met his.

"I love you," he whispered in time with his movements. "I love you. I love you. You are my life. My universe. I love you."

I was mesmerized by the smoldering fire in his gaze, and saw my eyes, blackened with desire as well, in the reflection of his. I turned my face to lean into his hand, never breaking eye contact with him. When his thumb softly stroked my bottom lip, I couldn't resist and I sucked it into my mouth, swirling my tongue around it and softly biting down.

He moaned at this sensation and a shudder traveled through his body, creating extra friction on my most sensitive spot. Again the heat started building in me, setting my every nerve ending on a painless fire. I shuddered and my breathing picked up pace, becoming ever more ragged and uneven. I emitted a soft moan with almost every exhale, urging Edward on. He groaned softly and kept on moving, setting a steady pace we both loved so much.

He had to fight to keep his eyes open, but he did. My hands still trailed at his neck, starting to pull his hair as his movements became more demanding.

We didn't break eye contact while he moved in me, his pace and force slowly but surely increasing. His hips flexed rhythmically, his pelvic bone grounding into mine at every thrust, creating the most delicious sensations at my core.

I urged him on with my eyes, scratching the sensitive skin of his neck. His thrusts got me soaring, and soon, too soon, the tell tale signs of my climax were showing. And he kept looking at me. All the while, he kept looking at me. Only when he climaxed did his eyes roll back before fluttering closed as he threw his head back, his guttural moan betraying the intensity of his orgasm. It was this sight, combined with this sound, that sent me over the edge as well. I clamped down on him, and cried out his name as I let the built-up energy discharge inside of me. The painless fire roared through my body, making me flex my feet and arch my back involuntarily. My legs trembled and Edward's hand left my face so he could hold me onto him, now softly rocking to draw out my climax, before gently bringing us down from our high again.

It was one of the most intense orgasms I ever had.

Edward stayed inside me, cherishing our intimacy. He gently flexed his hips against mine every now and again. One hand still supported my thigh, the back of the other stroked my breast, grazing the peak as he came across it. His forehead leaned against mine and his eyes, now a liquid topaz, never left mine. The water still came cascading down on us, and I marveled at the sight of the droplets finding their way down his face, before finally dropping off his strong jaw.

I kissed him again, and felt him stir inside of me.

"Haven't you had enough yet, Cullen?" I breathed as I moved to lick the water off his jaw, before proceeding down to the hollow under his ear. He growled as I sucked on his skin. The water made him taste even sweeter, and it wouldn't be the first time I couldn't stop just licking him. I could never get enough of his taste.

"Never." His lazy caresses became more intense, and I pulled back to look into his darkening eyes again. As he cupped my breast and then rubbed his thumb over the peak, I bit my lip at the sensation, and then saw Edward bite _his_ lip at the sight of me doing that. His other hand was massaging the thigh he was still holding against his waist. I hooked my ankles behind his back to get some leverage.

Slowly, he began to move inside me again. My hands trailed from his neck to his perfect chiseled chest, feeling his velvet skin and the ripple of his muscles underneath it as he moved and held me up against him.

"I love you," I breathed. "The silly words aren't enough to even begin to encompass what I feel for you."

He chuckled at that, his dark eyes sparkling and understanding, his crooked smile sending me soaring. "I thank my lucky stars that we seem to feel the same way," he whispered.

"After all these years, would you still have to wonder?"

"No, I'm quite sure now," he said after a moment of mock contemplation.

I had a witty reply somewhere. I did. But I lost it, as it was becoming impossible to keep coherent when Edward's movements grew ever more insistent, as were his hands. "I…" I started.

"What love?" His knowing smirk was almost annoying.

"I… Ah hell. I forgot. Just love me," I demanded.

"Yes ma'am," he growled, and this time I closed my eyes as he leaned in to kiss me.

It took even longer this time, but we barely noticed it as the hot water ran out and became lukewarm, then cold. We found each other again in our lovemaking, and reconnected after these two tumultuous days. Edward worshipped me with his body, and the intensity with which he did that showed me under how much stress he had been. He let it out through me.

It had taken him years to be able to do that. He never wanted to bother me when he felt stressed, but it bothered me the same when he tried to keep it from me. He had had to learn to let go with me. He had had to learn that I could handle it. And when he learned that I did, it had been an epiphany to him.

And right now, I could see the all-consuming fire in his eyes as he tried to digest all that had happened the last two days. To relieve him a little, and to make sure he wasn't going to mope, I fulfilled my promise.

I lowered my shield.

The intensity of the look in his eyes multiplied tenfold when he realized what I'd done. His movements became more insistent immediately as he could hear my thoughts. He never lasted long when I did that, but in a way it was a good thing, as lifting my shield when making love was exhausting to me and I still couldn't hold it for long.

His elation was apparent and soon we climaxed again, holding on tight and kissing hard, swallowing the other's moans.

We stood holding each other afterwards. I faintly registered that the water must be stone cold by now, but I couldn't bother. When we finally could no longer postpone leaving the haven of the shower behind, Edward shut off the water and flitted outside. He was back in a moment with plush bath sheets. We dried ourselves and each other, chuckling as our arms got tangled in our attempts to help the other out.

When we were reasonably dry, Edward cupped my face, kissed me one more time and sighed. I inhaled his sweet breath and looked into his mesmerizing eyes.

"I feel like I've missed you."

"Me, too," I agreed. I thought for a moment, trying to put into words what I felt. "It's too distracting, I think," I finally said. "Acting human is not a problem for me, but all the other boundaries feel repressing."

"What boundaries do you feel?" he asked me softly, his hands still cupping my face.

"Well, not being able to kiss you, for once," I said lightly, before demonstrating what I had said. "But also having to pay attention to the world around me. Having to mind what others say or might think. Dana," I finished bluntly.

"Yes, Dana. She's even showering with us," Edward growled, frowning.

I giggled at that. "You should ask her, she might like the proposition."

The look on his face told me he didn't appreciate my joke.

"Tell me what she's thinking. Honestly," I urged him. "It's eating you, obviously."

Edward sighed again and pulled away from me, leading the way into our bedroom. He disappeared into the closet and appeared again after just a moment. The dark grey sweat pants he'd put on barely clung to his hips, emphasizing the V-shape of his lower abdomen.

It was terribly distracting.

"She has compromising thoughts," Edward admitted as he sat down on the bed and I went into the closet, sniffing my way towards a harem trousers and tank top.

I appeared again swiftly, dressed as well. "In a less Victorian vocabulary?" I tried, trying to yank a comb through my wet hair.

"Let me," he offered, reaching out for my brush. I sat on the ground between his legs and closed my eyes as he started to brush my hair with immaculate care. It took a minute before he spoke.

"Okay," he finally gave in. "She imagines tackling me behind the Gym Building, where I would finally give in to her flirtations and kiss her passionately."

Well, that wasn't _that_ compromising, right? But he continued.

"She has all kinds of fantasies about me walking up to her and take her in whatever way pleases me. She thinks about herself on her knees, as she unzips my jeans. She fantasizes about me having her in every possible sort of position..." He broke off, and I could hear him swallow.

"I'm so sorry that you have to listen to that," I whispered.

Edward kept combing my hair, parting it in small strands and handling each one separately. "She's very visual," he murmured.

"You said that, yes," I empathized.

I closed my eyes at the sensations of Edward's grooming. We kept quiet for a while. When Edward had brushed my hair almost dry, he put the brush aside and reached under my arms to lift me onto the bed, so I came to sit between his thighs.

He pressed a kiss on my earlobe. "I love you, you know that, right?"

"I know," I said, turning my head a little to give him access to my neck. "I love you, too. You know that, right?"

He chuckled softly. "Yeah, I know," he whispered. "Truly, I do."

We talked for a couple of hours more, and all the while I was sitting between Edward's legs on the bed, his arms around me and his lips on my ear, my neck, my temple, my cheek, and, when I turned my head, my lips.

He finally became himself again, and I felt again like we were husband and wife. Playing the role of a teenage sister had taken a larger toll on me than I'd thought. I didn't mind acting like an adolescent — I'd chosen very consciously to stay in my teens forever. I minded not being able to be with Edward the way I wanted to be.

Normal high school, I could have handled easily. When people would just leave us alone, as they had done when the Cullen siblings were a group of five in Forks High. Well, except for one annoying brunette, of course…

Edward chuckled at my philosophy.

Finally, I lost my patience. "Tell me what Alice saw."

He froze behind me, so I wriggled from his arms and turned so I could straddle him. He refused to look at me, so I cupped his face in my hands and made him.

"Tell me, Edward. Talk to me."

His amber eyes looked pained. I leaned in and kissed him.

When he still didn't speak, I pushed him back on the bed, taking his wrists from behind my back and resting them on the mattress above his head. I positioned myself so that my entire upper body was resting on his, upper legs on upper legs, and my arms covered most of his, our fingers intertwined. He didn't try to pull away. We both knew that it helped him to relax when I was covering him in this manner.

I rested my forehead on his and looked into his eyes. "Please."

I was shocked into silence when he spoke. Alice had had truly horrible visions. Dana was capable of doing things that could put us in real danger. Mostly, Alice had seen blood. Human blood. The problem was that Alice could not foresee when, or where, or how. But there was the possibility of blood, and it would be caused by Dana.

When I asked him, alarmed, why we did not leave immediately, Edward tried to explain that although it would be very hard on us all, there was a very good chance we would be able to walk away. The girl Dana would be able to walk away as well. We just had to be on our guard.

And I knew why we wouldn't leave. Although us Cullens had seemingly endless financial resources, moving house for a family of ten was a costly business. And as long as all was relatively safe, it was a waste of time and money to do so. Plus it took enormous efforts to build a new life somewhere, get used to a new place. Rosalie had been right when she said she didn't want to move. Edward knew this, although he would not easily admit that.

"But then will you please tell me why we cannot tell her why we are together?" I pleaded, looking into my husband's eyes.

Edward hesitated before he spoke. "Dana has gotten one girl in a hospital before, in her chase after the boyfriend. She just beat her up. The girl lost some teeth, I heard. Dana got suspended and her family moved to another town."

"And the boyfriend?" I whispered.

"Dated Dana for a couple of weeks, until she got tired of him. Please, Bella, I know it's annoying, but I think it's best to not set Dana off. It's not like you can end up in a hospital, but if Dana attacks you, it can risk exposure."

I nodded solemnly. God, I was annoyed with this girl.

After there wasn't any more to say, and we had kept quiet for a long while, I lifted my body and pulled off my tank top. Then I stood between Edward's legs that were still dangling off the bed, and pulled down his sweats before stepping out of my pants as well, unceremoniously. Then I crawled back onto him, moving with him as he slid further towards the middle of the bed.

We kissed, first chastely and softly, before his lips parted and his tongue pressed softly against my lower lip. As he sighed, I opened my mouth to inhale his sweet breath. Our kiss deepened and his arms snaked around my back and pulled me tighter against him. He broke away from my mouth to suck softly on my jaw, and, when I turned my head to give him access, my neck. Then I felt the tip of his tongue tracing my carotid artery, where once my blood had been so close to my skin. We both growled softly, and I fisted his hair to keep his head in the crook of my neck, where he was savoring my skin, and I was savoring his touch.

His fingers traced down my spine before cupping my rear, gently kneading and caressing. His breath felt warm on the skin of my neck. My hips were starting to ground into his involuntarily, and he replied in kind by moving with me. He was hard again already, and as we kissed again, he met my lips with an urge that betrayed his desire. He hissed when I sucked his tongue into my mouth and softly bit down on it.

We were making up for the last couple of days.

One long arm reached further down and I groaned loudly when two of his long fingers slid into me, curving and probing in a way that he knew would bring me to climax fast, and hard. My breathing picked up pace quickly in anticipation. But I wasn't granted this pleasure and he pulled his hand away as soon as the first signs of my impending orgasm were showing. Instead, he rolled us over and he hovered over me, his fingers in my hair, his gaze burning into mine.

We both cried out as he slid home. Once. Twice. Again. Again. Again. Again.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

_Yes._

Oh, dear mother of all that is sacred, _yes_.

Heaven.

Eden.

Forever.

_Mine_.

Yeah.

* * *

_Soooo… This was special to write, to say the least. What did you think about Alice's vision? Is it what you expected? As ever, I love to know what you think!_

_Go ahead and copy-paste: Yay, please keep on writing! ;) Please, please press review. Take 10 seconds to write something down and know that you make my day :)  
_

_I'm just going to cuddle my boyfriend now for a bit I think..._


	11. Truth or Dare

**A/N I don't own Twilight. This plot is mine though.**

_Hello everyone :) Thanks a bunch for all the loving reviews and notifications. You hate Dana almost as much as I do. I've gotten some excellent questions and I'll answer them here, in case you have been wondering the same things. _

_Where are they? Well, as you know I'm not from the States so I had to do some Google mapping. I think they are somewhere around Astoria, but don't go asking me for specific high school names because I honestly don't know, and it's safer to keep quiet than to tell things that are obviously wrong. _

_Why does nobody notice the rings? Although my story is 10 chapters along, only two days have passed. Humans are exceptionally unobservant and even if students had noticed the rings, they would probably not have thought them wedding rings. But, one human will pick it up in this chapter, and no, it's not Dana._

_I seriously have no idea how to make time pass in my story, I practically write second-to-second reports. Promise to slap me when I'm slowing down, okay? I'm beginning to worry I will need 50 chapters to tell this story. I also want to apologize in advance that I am not going to be able to keep up the weekly update schedule._

_I owe some very serious humbling and eternal thanks to the awesomeness that goes by the name of Ellelovesedward. She proofed this chapter for me and provided me with invaluable feedback. I hoped I have improved my chapter after your comments :) _

_Up in this chapter: Truth or Dare, Cullen style. But first, some much-needed bonding between Edward, Bella and Renesmee._

_SparklyInsanity, this one is for you...  
_

* * *

When we resurfaced the next morning, Edward radiated a confidence I hadn't seen on him since we started discussing high school months ago. When I looked in his eyes and saw the way he looked at me, I knew I must be having the same air around me. I could feel it, definitely.

We hadn't talked about a strategy, because it was no use to try and anticipate what was going to happen. We knew we had to be on our guard. But we also knew that the best way to keep that guard was to be thoroughly grounded. We made the solemn oath that we would not lose each other again in the turmoil of the world around us.

It sounded easy when we spoke those words to each other, shielded from that world by the drawn curtains of our four-poster bed.

Renesmee tapped softly on our door in the very early morning, softly asking for some much-needed quality time with us. When we welcomed her in, she jumped on our bed from the doorway, through the curtains that Edward held aside, lightly landing in between us and snuggling in immediately. We laughed at her behavior and pulled the covers over our heads, enveloping our daughter in a tight embrace.

I reveled as her scent soaked the air around us and as I felt the heat of her body against mine, and she didn't shy away from our cold touch. She never did, and she often even refused us to put a comforter between our body and hers.

"Did you sleep well?" Edward asked softly as his fingers trailed through her copper curls. His voice was muffled as he had hidden his face in her thick hair.

"I did. I had such a blast yesterday and I even forgot to tell you the most exciting news!"

Edward looked up, as surprised as me, as I had been shielding our daughter yesterday of course, thus withholding any of her thoughts from him.

"Pray tell," Edward said, smiling indulgently.

"Well, you see, my new friend Melody likes to dance and she was going to try out for the cheerleaders' squad today. And I found out you still could enroll for the auditions, so I thought, why not?"

Her logic was infallible, but I could tell Edward was as reluctant as I was about this.

Renesmee noticed our hesitation and her mood plummeted. "I… I can always cancel if you don't like it," she whispered. "But I thought it would be fun to do something like this. You know how I love to dance."

"We do, honey," I said reassuringly and leaned in a little to kiss her forehead. "But that's the thing. You are a good dancer. Maybe a little too good for normal human eyes."

"I thought that if I was really careful, I could try. Just like, you know… you can run with humans without them noticing?"

"Oh, they notice," Edward laughed, hugging both of us tighter. "But they either don't care or are too scared to elaborate. Your mother has a point, though. You might be a little too good to go unnoticed."

"I don't even know if I should consider that as a compliment," Ness chuckled. "I could mess up once in a while, maybe. We could practice that. Mommy used to be clumsy, right? She could teach me."

I wanted to protest, but I laughed so hard I couldn't even speak. Even after all these years, my human clumsiness was still considered one of my most important traits.

Emmett's guffaw boomed through the house as well. "She _was_ clumsy. Your mother couldn't even walk and chew gum at the same time."

"Emmett, I didn't recall you being part of this conversation," I chided him in a soft voice, knowing he could hear me anyway.

"It's true, though," he persisted. "She broke her hand once because of it."

"That is so not true," I muttered.

"You broke your hand once? What was that about?" Renesmee asked, lifting her head a little so she could look me in the eye.

"Nothing honey, nothing of any importance," I tried, but she didn't let go.

"No, I want to know. Did it hurt?"

"Like hell," I laughed. "But then your dad came and his hands were better than any ice pack."

Renesmee smiled at the mental image. "It's hard to believe that once you were as warm as I am, and that dad's hands were as cold on you as they are on me now. I can understand how you didn't mind, though, but it must be nice to not feel any difference in temperature now. Like I do with Jake, maybe."

She shocked us into silence sometimes with her uncanny observations. She wasn't distracted, however, as I had hoped. Her mind worked just like ours, and there was always room for an extra train of thought. So she persisted. "So what did you do to break your hand?"

"It's really not in your benefit to know," I groaned, hiding my face and making her laugh again.

"Okay, so now I _really_ want to know." She shifted, turning a little. "Dad, won't you tell me?"

"Jake will be angry when I do," Edward chuckled, pressing a kiss on her temple.

"Jake? What does Jacob have to do with this?"

"You better ask what Jake's jaw has to with this!" Emmett boomed from the other side of the house, no longer able to contain himself.

"Wait, what?"

"Excellent, Emmett," I hissed, frowning now.

"Anytime, sis."

"Seriously," Renesmee said. "I thought I was pretty well aware of a lot of things in this family, but it seems I'm missing something important here."

"It's not important, but I'll tell you. Just promise me you won't get mad," I warned her.

"At you? Never."

We both knew that was a lie, but I let it go. "You know how Jake had a thing for me before you were born, when I was still human?" I started. "Well, he tried to kiss me. I wouldn't have that, so I punched his face. And broke my hand in the process."

Renesmee's squeal of laughter was virtually the last thing I had expected.

"That is so Jake!" she managed to say between hiccups of laughter. "And that is _so_ you!"

We couldn't help but laugh with her, and I was more than glad that she took it this lightly.

"Was your hand really hurt? What happened then?" she asked when she had her laughing under control again. She wiped the tears from her eyes and almost started again, but tried to contain herself.

"I…" I hesitated. I looked at Edward questioningly as I realized that I had forgotten what had happened next. "I forgot," I said softly.

"No you didn't," Ness pressed. "You just don't want to tell."

"No, I really forgot. I forgot a lot of things when I was changed. Apparently, this is one of those things."

"It wasn't that memorable an event anyway," Edward lied soothingly, rubbing my arm. "But this is what happened — Jake brought Bella to Charlie's house, where she called me. I was none too pleased, but I brought her to Carlisle so he could fix her hand."

Although I truly didn't remember it, I was fairly certain that this was a _very_ loose recollection of what had really happened.

"And Jake? Was he hurt?"

"Are you seriously wondering about that?" I asked, laughing.

Renesmee thought for a moment, her big brown eyes glazing over. "I really can't imagine how strong humans are. But he wasn't hurt, I gather?"

"He didn't even really feel it, although God knows she hit him hard enough," Edward murmured.

"Were you very angry?" Ness asked Edward carefully.

"I was. But it's all over and done now."

"And you?" she asked, turning back to me.

"I was, at first. But he apologized and we remained friends." That was about the most neutral version I could think of. Because I _did_ remember a certain night in a tent, before the fight with the newborns and Victoria.

"And Jake?"

"He wasn't really," Edward said in a tone that made it very clear this conversation should have been over a while ago.

"She should ask them about the oth—" Muffled sounds, a thud, a "hey!" and some hissed curses prevented Emmett to finish his sentence.

Renesmee heard it, but apparently decided to let it go. "So can I join the cheerleaders?"

I blinked at her change of subject, shaking my head to clear it a little. Then I looked at Edward before I met her gaze again. "Do you want to?"

"_Yes_ I want to!"

"I can join her, you know," Alice interfered from somewhere below — probably the living room. "I'd like to try out and then we'll be together. Would you like that, Ness?"

"So much for quality time between the three of us," I groaned, but to be honest, I really liked Alice's proposition.

"That would be so much fun," Renesmee breathed, her eyes alit with the possibilities. "You really would do that, Alice?" Her voice was still soft, she knew Alice could hear her.

"Yeah. Should be fun," Alice chimed.

"In that case, I can't object," Edward conceded. "What do you think, mom?"

"If you're into this, Ness, I guess it's okay. But don't let me notice it getting in the way with your homework!" I tried to sound stern, but failed miserably. Renesmee was brilliant and we were very aware of that.

Renesmee snorted in mock annoyance and then hugged us both tightly in thanks, before she snuggled deeper between us and curled up a little. She nuzzled her face in the crook of my neck and I felt her shift closer to me as Edward put his arms around us both and pulled us closer to him.

"I missed you," she breathed so softly that only we could hear.

"We missed you too," Edward whispered in reply, and held us in a tight embrace.

We remained quiet and still and in my mind's eye I saw Renesmee's images becoming more and more blurred as she drifted off to sleep. We stayed like this until the sun was fully up and we had to hurry to get ready for school in time.

**~O~**

Emmett wanted to try out his newly tuned Dodge, so he and Rose left early. Jasper wanted to go with them, and Alice followed suit.

Jacob came stumbling into the kitchen, where Esme had just finished making his breakfast. Jacob looked cute, even I could admit that, with his cheeks still rosy from sleep and his shaggy hair all over the place.

Renesmee sat opposite him, to watch him eat. I still didn't understand this fascination with watching humans eat — I vaguely recalled Edward watching my every move, mesmerized, when I ate.

It was such a contradiction, regarding the way human food smelled to him, and to me as well now. As Jake drank his milk in big gulps, I suppressed a shudder. Dairy did not go well on any member of our family. You had me running however as soon as the smell of chicken reached my nostrils. And Jacob loved chicken. A lot.

Edward leaned against the counter and pulled me into his arms so I stood between his legs. I would never, ever tire of the feeling if his arms around me. As if on cue, he held me tighter and hummed softly. I simply didn't breathe so I could enjoy the atmosphere better, and snuggled against my husband. Hmm, I'd never get tired of that word, either.

Carlisle walked into the kitchen, smiling indulgently at the scene he found there. He hugged Esme and said goodbye to go to the hospital again.

"You work too much," I called at his back when he walked towards the door.

He threw his head back and laughed, but didn't pause as he walked out.

I turned to Esme. "What will you do today? Won't you get lonely?"

She smiled reassuringly. "I plan to go to the market today, as a certain member of our household needs to eat," she winked at Jacob, "and then maybe I'll explore the neighborhood. And it looks like Carlisle forgot his lunch. Again."

I chuckled at that. Esme would be just fine.

Jake swallowed his last bite and, a new man, he jumped up lightly to get ready for school. He was back within minutes, jeans and hooded sweater, and entirely Jacob.

We piled up in Edward's Volvo together. Jake's Rabbit wouldn't start anymore for some mysterious reason some days ago.

"Any luck on your car yet, Jake?" Edward asked as he pulled out of the garage.

"Nah, can't find the problem. Can't find the time now either to really look."

"You could ask Rose," I offered, for the umpteenth time.

Jake just huffed, grumbled something, and crossed his arms. Offer rejected.

Edward drove at his usual speed, but still we arrived only just in time. We pulled up at the parking lot just as Emmett cruised his Dodge round the corner. Emmett saw us, floored the accelerator, and cut us off to the parking spot Edward was just pulling in. He avoided Emmett deftly, of course, having heard his thoughts and being able to anticipate, sliding into the parking spot to the left. Still, I was startled.

"Oh my, how old _is_ he," Renesmee muttered, crossing her arms. "Seriously, McCarty," she said a little louder, knowing that he could hear her in his car.

His booming laugh was heard by virtually every student in the parking lot.

Edward got out of the car and warned me with his eyes to wait for him as he walked around to open my door for me. Jake did the same for Ness, I noticed.

The rest of my siblings emerged from Emmett's Dodge. Their eyes were sparkling and Jasper was radiating happiness, automatically making us feel giddy as well.

"Enjoyed the ride?" Edward laughed.

"Hell yeah," Jasper drawled. "Rosalie did an excellent job."

Said sister made a theatrical little bow at the compliment.

Emmett smiled impishly and pulled Rosalie against him, leaning down to kiss her intimately.

"Oh, get a room," Ness huffed.

"Hmmm," Emmett growled, not releasing Rosalie.

"You are horrible," I scowled as their kissing became more intense.

"As if you didn't get your fill last night," Emmett murmured, barely parting from Rosalie's lips long enough to finish his sentence.

"Nanananana can't hear you!" Renesmee sang, her hands on her ears, as she walked away rapidly. Jacob followed behind her, snickering.

"Excellent, McCarty," I hissed as I watched my daughter's back. "You are on a roll today, aren't you?"

"I'm bored," he admitted, shrugging. Rosalie nodded in agreement.

"Then play," I said dismissively. "TorD or paper planes." Paper planes was a game that was born as the result of a dare. As innocent as the name sounded, the game itself was far from it.

Emmett scowled at me, but Rosalie's eyes lit up.

As the bell rang, she tugged him with her to class, smiling wickedly. Alice licked her lips in a way I could only define as anticipation.

Edward grinned and took my hand as we walked to Biology. I looked down at this 'public display of affection,' then met his eyes. He shrugged. "It doesn't make much difference if people know whether we're together or not. But it does to me, so I'm staking my claim." He winked at me, and I would have blushed.

"Ah, swoon, Edward Cullen wants me," I breathed, and his chuckle became a full laugh.

"I do, Mrs. Cullen. Truly, I do."

And yet again he made me giggle like a schoolgirl.

My phone buzzed in my pocket as we were sitting down in Biology.

_TorD? -Em_

I shook my head, laughing, and showed Edward the text. He grinned, a wicked gleam appearing in his eyes. I replied swiftly.

_Nuh-uh. Not playing. -B_

The phone buzzed again before I had put it away.

_Me neither, I'm dead serious. Truth, or dare? -Em_

Gah. Better go with truth then. Emmet's dares tended to be mortifying. My phone buzzed immediately after I'd taken his bait, as did Edward's.

_Such a good sport, lil' sis! Okay, here goes. Name one unfulfilled fantasy._

Wow, well, that was one way to start this game. My phone buzzed again.

_PS reply to all, please_

I looked to see who the 'all' were and was relieved to see that it was just the six of us. Renesmee and Jacob would be spared this ordeal. I replied.

_From before or after? -B_

Edward read my message as it appeared on his phone and sat up straighter. "Sounds promising," he murmured, crooked smile appearing.

_Oho! Tough choice. I'll let you off easy then. Before. -Em_

If I still could have blushed… I put my hands on my cheeks to check if I really wasn't. Edward saw me and grinned so wide he looked dangerous. "Pray tell," he whispered.

_It's disgusting, I'm warning you. -B_

_Shit, Bell, just spill! -Rose._

I sighed. Me and my propositions. Emmett had been bored, not I! I gritted my teeth and texted as quickly as possible, under the table. As if it would hurt less then. Like the trick with the band-aid — do it quickly.

_Whipped cream. On Edward. Because it wouldn't get sour, you know…? -B_

_Oooh, that's just ten shades of horrible. -Al=_

_Not for me, it wasn't. I know better now, though. -B_

_ You better. I'd probably never have let you. -E_

I looked up at my husband, who was sitting next to me and was still texting me. "You wouldn't?" I asked.

"Bella, have you ever _seen_ me around cream?" He shuddered visibly. "I don't think I could have tolerated it, however happy it would have made you."

"Too bad," I grinned. "But no crying over spilled, er, whipped milk."

He guffawed at that, and then apologized profusely to our teacher, who was getting tired of us, fast.

_My turn. Jazz, TorD? -B_

_T. -J._

He brought word economy to a whole new level.

_Did you jack off when you went into the forest yesterday? -B._

_No. My momma said it'd make me blind. Rose, TorD?_

The speed of the game was picking up, the innocence of the questions fading fast. Rosalie asked for a dare, because '_somebody has to start the fun part of the game._'

_Get Em a hard-on. -J._

_No can do. Already the case. Other dare? -Rose._

Luckily the bell rang then, drowning out our laughter. Jasper's reply followed before we were out of the classroom.

_Blow him a raspberry on his stomach in the hallway. -J._

Oh, I _had_ to see this happen. We took a detour through the hallway where we knew we would meet them. Alice and Jasper followed behind us and sure enough, in the middle of the thrumming student body, Rosalie stopped, rolled her eyes at us, pushed up Emmett's sweater and blew a loud raspberry on his stomach in one fluent movement. Students around them stalled and looked, utterly surprised, whispering or laughing.

Emmett, who was particularly ticklish — would you believe it — laughed so hard it echoed off the walls. Rosalie got back up, cocked an eyebrow at us, and walked away with swaying hips. We were all howling with laughter, Alice was holding on to Jasper to stay upright. Then all our phones buzzed simultaneously — I could hear it over the noise of the walking and talking students.

_Game. On. -R. _

Immediately after:

_Alice, TorD? -R.  
_

Edward squeezed my hand and left to go to his own class. As Jasper, Alice and I were sitting ourselves down in Literature, Alice opted for a dare. Mark waved as he walked into the room and sat down beside me. Oh dear, I hoped that I could go through this lesson with as few turns for me as possible.

"Hi Bella, how are you?"

"Very fine, thank you. How are you? Did you finish your paper for History?"

He did, and he thanked me again for the advice I'd given him.

My phone buzzed. Rose was on a roll.

The teacher welcomed us all to class and started by asking us who dared to show their Google results.

As the teacher was looking around a room full of students that were carefully avoiding eye contact, I took my chance to check my phone.

_Flash for Jazz. R.  
_

I looked up in surprise at her boldness and met the teacher's gaze.

"Yes, Bella. Would you mind? I'm interested if you are indeed as unfindable as you claimed last Monday."

Drat.

I got up and walked to the front of the class. I typed my name in Google at the pc on the teacher's desk and the results — or lack thereof — were projected on the wall behind me.

"I must say I am impressed," Mr. Garrett said kindly. "It's hard these days to leave no traces behind on the net."

Well, we'd paid good money to the right people to make sure of that. I excused myself quickly and walked back to my seat. Alice chose that exact moment to fulfill her dare. She turned to Jasper and lifted her top in a movement so fast that humans could not possibly have noticed it. But I saw, and Jasper saw.

_Holy holy, I did so not want to see that! -E_

Edward saw. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing, and I bit it so hard I actually registered pain.

"You're very meticulous about keeping your data off the Internet," Mr. Garrett said as I was seated again. "One might think you'd have something to hide."

"No, sir, I'd say there's just nothing to show."

"Of course there would be nothing worth showing for that girl," Dana hissed wickedly, while looking around at me. "I bet she's never even kissed a guy."

Oooh, she was right. I never kissed a _guy_. Not a human one, at any rate.

"I would have guessed that it was nothing short of compulsory these days to have a public profile," Mr. Garrett mused to the class in general. "Who has an account on Myspace here? Raise your hands, please."

I picked out my phone again and read Emmett's last new text.

_Of course you would see, Edward, how else would we verify? Ur turn, Al. -Em_

Twenty-seven hands were put in the air in answer to Mr. Garrett's question. Alice, Jasper and I kept our cools. My phone buzzed again.

_Edward, TorD? -Al=_

_Truth. -E._

"Who has an account on facebook?" Mr. Garrett asked. Again, almost all hands were raised.

"Who dares to show his or her public profile in front of the class?"

_Name the one unfulfilled fantasy from before Bella was changed. -Al=_

The reply followed instantly.

_No. -E. _

I stared at my phone with my eyebrows raised. _The_ one unfulfilled fantasy? She knew?

To my right, I saw a student get up and walk to the front of the class. The beamer was temporarily put to black so she could log on in private, then the wall lit up again, showing what was on the computer screen.

I stared at the projection, then back at my phone. Then I turned and looked at Alice. She grinned at me and shrugged. "He hasn't decided yet. It's his story to tell."

Before me, the wall was lit with the student's profile, pretty in primal colors, laden with pictures, apps, and messages from friends.

I glared back at my phone as it buzzed again.

_Aw, come on, Edward. 'Snot that bad. -Al=_

_Is too. I'd like my wife to come home to me again tonight. - E. _

Yeah, I was starting to get a little nervous now.

Mr. Garrett was telling about how many traces you left behind you on the Internet, and how much information about people could be found on public profiles. The student at front was mortified as more and more personal details popped up.

To my left, Mark was looking from my face to my phone. I held it so that he would never be able to see the screen.

"You're texting at awful rapid speed," he whispered. "I'm guessing your incoming messages are not from one person?"

I looked up at him and managed a half-laugh. "You're guessing right, there's six of us in."

My phone buzzed again.

_Edward, you know the rules. Backing out means next turn's a dare. Your choice. -Em_

_I'm shooting roots here. -B_

"So much to say?" Mark asked innocently as my phone vibrated yet again.

_Tell her or I will. -Rose.  
_

I grinned at him. "We're playing truth or dare," I confessed. I quickly replied to Rose's last message.

_You all know except me? I'm hurt. -B_

_See, Edward? You're hurting her. Comfort her. -J. _

_Not by telling her this. Give me a dare. I'll take it. -E_

_You are no fun. Dare: kiss Bella movie-style in the hallway. -Al=_

I looked around at Alice when I saw her message. "Will my girlfriend see?" I asked hopefully, nodding towards Dana.

But Alice shook her head, no.

Drat, yet again.

And now there was silence, as we waited for the bell to ring. I put my phone away and put on an interested face. Hell, I even took notes.

Dana was on a roll, shooting me daggers every once in a while. I stared back at her, unimpressed. If anything, I'd have thought she'd try to be friends with me in order to get closer to Edward. Wasn't that what Alice had said? Ah, well.

"Um, Bella?"

"Yes, Mark?"

"Is that a wedding ring around your finger?"

Why were humans never unobservant when you expected them to? I looked at my rings. "It is. It's an heirloom." I tried to make it sound off-handedly, but I couldn't really hide the fact that I was insanely proud of this ring around my finger. Edward had told me that when I was still human, I had acted as if it would give me a rash. I was happy I couldn't remember that well.

"It's stunning," Mark whispered. "Was it your mother's?"

Luckily, the bell rang, so I didn't have to answer. For once, I was the one saved from finishing a conversation with him. I wouldn't be able to pull off the lie, and it would sound really weird if I told Mark I was actually married, although there were certain states where we could have done so at our age, of course.

I hurried to put my books in my bag, not looking at Mark. He looked at me with a compassionate look on his face, and I thankfully used the fact that he probably thought it was hard for me to talk about this.

When the first student opened the door, Edward's scent swirled into the room and I saw him waiting at the door. Dana saw him too, unfortunately.

Oh, and of course she thought he was there to see her.

"Hi Edward," she chimed as she walked towards him. Edward nodded once in reply, not even bothering to answer.

"So, would you like to spend break with me?" she asked.

"No, I'm here to pick up my siblings," he said sweetly. "I'm sure you have your friends waiting for you."

"Oh, but my friends are dying to get to know you."

I grinned so widely at her choice of words I must have looked wicked. Edward saw my expression over Dana's shoulder and I saw the corners of his mouth twitch.

"Some other time, maybe," he said dismissively. And with that, he walked past her towards us. Dana looked after him and shot us some daggers again, before she left the classroom with Jodi and some others of her pack trailing behind.

Mark was still with us, and Edward greeted him politely, his gaze considerably warmer, but still carefully composed. I didn't see jealousy though, which I liked.

"Did I see you're Dana's next objective?" Mark asked carefully as we walked out of the classroom together.

"It seems to be so. Need I consider myself warned?"

Mark chuckled. "You should. She won't let go before she's had you. She's known to tear up relationships in order to get her way. That girl just won't stop. She's infamous here at school for that. Although guys usually consider themselves very lucky if she's chosen them as her next conquest."

"I don't consider myself lucky for that," Edward murmured.

"Now," Alice whispered then.

I turned around. "Now? Really?"

But Edward didn't need to be told twice. He scooped me up and bent me backwards, then pressed a lingering kiss on my mouth, movie-like style. Catcalls and whistles filled the hallway.

When he set me upright again, I was still a little startled. Emmett's booming laugh sounded through the hallway once more, and Mark stood smiling with a surprised, but amused look on his face.

"I _knew_ it!" he exclaimed. "I just knew you two were a couple. I can't believe it, but it's true, right? There's eight of you, and you're all couples?"

We laughed at his enthusiasm. "We are," Alice said. "I thought as much that you had figured it out already."

"I can tell you're sort of trying to hide it. But it's the way you all look at each other. I can tell you are all very close, but when you look at Jasper, for instance, or Edward looks at Bella, there's just a different look in your eyes." He blushed after that.

"You'll be a good writer, being so observant," I complimented him, and he blushed deeper.

I swallowed some venom at seeing his warm blood so close under his skin, and had to look away.

Edward tightened his grip around me for a moment in reassurance and I reveled in the feel of his strong, unyielding arms around me.

Mark looked at me, at Edward, then at Edward's hands covering mine. Edward's left hand, with the platinum wedding ring that matched mine. Mark looked back at me, with one eyebrow raised. Edward chuckled very silently behind me, I could feel rather than hear the vibrations in his body.

Renesmee and Jacob were sauntering towards us from the left, and from the right Rose and Emmett were approaching, both saving us from Mark's question, no doubt.

"Okay, what was that all about?" Renesmee asked. Her cheeks were flushed a little as well, probably in excitement for the upcoming audition.

"I kissed Bella," Edward said smugly.

"Yeah, okay. But _why_?"

"Because I love her," Edward said, his smile even smugger. Renesmee chuckled, shrugged and decided to let it go.

"So, are you up for the audition?" I asked my daughter.

Excitement lit up her face. "I am. I'm so nervous!"

"You'll outshine everyone," Rosalie smiled.

"Won't you join us?" Renesmee asked her.

Rosalie huffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, please."

"She's not dignifying that question with an answer," Emmett purred as he snaked his broad arms around her small waist. "Besides, we've pompons at home."

"Nooo, don't go there," Renesmee begged, just as Jacob said: "Really?"

Even Mark laughed with us. Jimmy, who had joined us in the meantime, wanted to know what was funny.

"Something about cheerleaders," Mark snickered.

"Oh, right, tryouts this afternoon. Want to come and watch?"

"Is it a public audition?" I asked. Edward looked up at that, alarmed.

"It is," Alice chimed in, finally having broken loose from her gaze-lock with Jasper, but she looked back at him immediately. "I'd like for you to come and watch."

I rolled my eyes at them and looked back at Ness. "Want us to come?"

"Duh, I do!"

"I'll come too, if you want," Rose said sweetly. "We'll have to wait for you guys anyway, we only brought two cars today."

I cocked an eyebrow at her. As if the availability of a car did have anything to do with her ability to get herself home after school. Rosalie met my gaze and then looked down at her shoes, brand new Manolo Blahnik's if I were not mistaken.

"Damned if I ruin these shoes by running home," she hissed lowly, and I laughed heartily at this joke only my siblings had heard.

Trig seemed a little more fun now we could continue our game of Truth or Dare. I wanted Edward to tell me his fantasy. He flat out refused to do so, but promised me that he would tell me when he got me alone.

"You better, or I'll dare you into sending a real paper plane," I threatened, and his eyes widened in dread. Meanwhile, the game went on. Edward coaxed Emmett into telling why cheerleaders were so much fun to him ('_innocence with pompons, duh_'). Emmett dared Jasper to make the entire class horny, but as that was a little too dangerous, Jasper settled for just Edward, who then started bombarding me with paper planes. Poor man.

Jasper got Rosalie to tell what she really thought of me before Edward even knew he loved me, but it didn't come as a surprise to me and I wasn't offended by it at all. She knew that, of course, as our friendship was deep and steady. Rosalie then pried one unfulfilled fantasy from 'after' away from me, and this did make me uncomfortable as Edward didn't really know about this one. But he liked it, given the paper planes that kept on coming and making me all gooey and very much willing to skip the rest of the day.

To lighten things up a bit, I dared Alice to waltz her way to Chemistry with Jasper. To our great amusement, they did, and they twirled through the crowded hallways, expertly avoiding the walking students. We had a big audience, but I couldn't care less and if I could have cried with laughter, I would have.

Renesmee and Jacob noticed it as well, and Renesmee finally caught the fact that we were playing truth or dare. I feared a little that she'd want to join us, but Edward told me that she understood we 'grown-ups' wanted to play and that we surely would ask her the next time. I nodded at her in assurance and she waved before she trailed off to her next class with Jacob.

When the hallways were almost empty again, Edward repeated his earlier dare and kissed me in a movie-like way, bending me backwards and holding me effortlessly. This time I was not surprised and I took my chance to weave my fingers through his thick, silken hair, tousling it even more. His lips were velvet against mine and so warm, so soft. Although I did not have much material to compare it with, I was very sure that Edward was the best kisser in the whole wide world. When he released me again, I was more than a little bit flustered. "Hot damn," I whispered, and he treated me with my favorite crooked sexy smile.

We sat down in Chemistry next and picked out our books. Dana kept looking at us over her shoulder, but I tried to ignore her. The teacher started explaining things to us and I was surprised to notice that he was actually wrong. I looked at Edward and saw he noticed it, too, but of course he wouldn't be the one to tell or Dana would know he actually knew his facts.

Hesitantly, I raised my hand. It took over a minute for the teacher to break away from his drone and notice me. By asking a subtle question, I let him know that he was wrong, and he hastily corrected himself, throwing me a grateful look as he went along with his story, a little more lively now.

Then, I picked out my phone and read the messages that had kept coming in the meantime. We played along a little, albeit at a slower pace as Alice and Edward were busy analyzing Dana.

"Gah," Alice said suddenly.

I swirled around to face her. "What?"

"Dana is trying out too. Her whole pack is."

"Ew."

"Indeed," Jasper rumbled, annoyed.

"All the more reason to stay for the audition."

"She'll think I'll be there for her," Edward murmured with a frown.

"Will she become a cheerleader?"

"That's nothing to cheer about," Jasper sighed as Alice nodded sadly.

"Want to ask Renesmee and reconsider?" Alice asked us carefully.

I glanced at Dana, who was whispering over her shoulder with Kendra and Rebecca.

"I can't wait for the audition!"

"You'd look stunning in that outfit," Kendra nodded approvingly. "And you know that on training days, we'll be entitled to wear it the whole day."

"Yeah, looking forward to that," Dana said dreamily, looking at Edward swiftly as she spoke. "We're going to rock. I can feel it."

"Will Dennis come and watch?" Rebecca asked.

"If he knows what's good for him, he will," Dana said. "But I am so done with him. I mean, look at _that_," she nodded at Edward, "and then tell me I should be happy with Dennis around me."

"When are you going to dump him?"

"I don't know yet. I'd like to hit home with him but he's real hesitant about it, and I am losing my patience with the new hottie around. So maybe this weekend, I don't know."

"How are you going to seduce him?" Kendra asked carefully.

"Easy. Once I get him alone, I'll make sure he knows what he will be missing," Dana said as she licked her lips in anticipation.

I faked a yawn as I looked away from them and I stretched a little. "Doesn't matter," I decided. "She's nothing to me. And I refuse to let our lives be altered in any way by her." I looked at Edward to see if he agreed and his eyes met mine. A jolt of electricity shot through me as our gazes locked. Alice hissed something, but I could hardly hear her. She kicked my chair slapped the back of my head, but I barely noticed. Edward did not respond either when she punched his arm, hard.

Edward and I were building a bond at rapid speed, and at that exact moment, I couldn't care less.

* * *

_Don't be mad... Edward is _really_ uncomfortable about sharing his fantasy (and I feel _very_ uncomfortable about writing it down). Paper planes are a figment of my imagination and it will become clear what they are exactly in one of the upcoming chapters. They are fun, I can tell ;)_

_Up next: Dana on a roll, an annoyed Edward and an irritating _Patrick_ O'Neil..._

_As ever, would I love to know what you think!_


	12. Mr Patrick O'Neil

**A/N I don't own Twilight. I just borrow the characters**

_Hello my dear readers. I am so sorry to have you kept waiting for so long. I stumbled upon this tiny annoying thing called 'writer's block.' It's a nasty phenomenon, I can tell you.I didn't even dare to reply to reviews because I felt horrible for not being able to write. But yesterday, the words came back to me again, hurray!  
_

_My upcoming updates will most likely not be weekly anymore. Bear with me, I love to write this but I want to do it at my own pace. It's supposed to make me happy, not stressed ;)_

_Endless thanks to my beta Sherryola, who never urged me to write but reassured me time and again that inspiration would hit. She was right. Sherry, thank you so much!  
_

_Myth'lovin, this one is for you. I hope you remember why :)  
_

* * *

Jasper excused himself to use the restroom almost immediately, thoroughly annoyed by our strong emotions that he couldn't tune out. Alice sat alone and relaxed a little after a while, telling us that we would make it until the bell rang, at least.

Or, that's what I thought she said, because it took several seconds for her words to sink in and actually gain a meaning in my head.

My universe, currently, was Edward, and Edward alone. Two seconds before the bell rang, we stood up simultaneously and walked from the classroom at a quick, but still human pace. We simply left our stuff behind and walked out of the school building, not noticing anything that happened around us. Hundreds of students filled the hallways, all bodies and breaths and warmths and pulses and heartbeats. I did not notice them. Although I was no longer looking at Edward, every fiber of my being was attuned to his and I knew exactly where he was beside me. The hallway could have been empty, as I was only aware of him.

We crossed the parking lot and as soon as we were out of human sight, broke into a fast run into the forest. Edward tackled me as soon as we were out of human hearing range and claimed me as his wife, albeit standing up against a tree to prevent getting our clothes too dirty.

He didn't waste time on sweet words or gentle caresses and was all business as he steadily rocked us through several rounds of mind-blowing fireworks. I closed my eyes in bliss and let my head rest back against the tree as his love washed over me, time after time after glorious time.

I was pulled out of my trance as I suddenly heard him grinning. I looked questioningly into his amused face.

"It's like I'm feeling you up as the adolescent I pretend to be," he chuckled, "taking you like this in the forest."

"Yeah, so much for foreplay," I breathed, and he showed his heart-stopping crooked smile as he pulled a piece of bark from my hair.

"You don't feel neglected, though, right?"

I groaned. "Edward, how can you still be insecure after all these years? I love everything you do, even if it's immature," I joked as I ruffled his hair.

He took it as a cue to treat me as the seventeen-year-old he just claimed to be. He put on a silly, lovesick face and covered my face with sloppy, wet kisses. As if that wasn't bad enough, he let his hands roam my body clumsily, positively groping and gripping where his caresses were always so careful and sweet.

I laughed out loud but he wouldn't relent. "Oh, Isabella," he groaned mockingly, "I finally have you to myself here in this forest. Let's give ourselves over to this magic before we have time to come to our senses."

"Oh no, darling," I wheezed with laughter as his tongue lapped — yes, _lapped __—_at my neck. "You kind of fell out of your role there a little."

Edward chuckled once more and pulled back to look at me. "Then what should I say?"

"Hmm, a real seventeen-year-old might say something like, 'I want to fuck you senseless.'"

His eyes widened at my choice of words, but his body responded and he dutifully did as he was told.

**~O~**

We trailed back onto the drizzling parking lot before lunch hour had ended — thank the heavens for vampire speed. Alice came trailing out of the main school building to collect us and tutted as she saw the state of my hair.

"Had fun, guys?" She cocked an eyebrow as she pulled out yet another piece of tree bark out of my hair, before she tried to get it into style again. "Hopeless," she breathed, frowning. Then she reached into her backpack and handed me a jacket. "Put this on, your back is covered in green smudges."

"That's his fault," I deadpanned, pointing at my husband. "He wouldn't let me go on top."

"Silly," Alice smiled as I put on the denim jacket she gave me — I recognized it as being one of my own. "You don't _let_ your husband _let_ you go on top. You just _go_ on top."

"Ah, so that's the secret," I mocked. "Thanks, I'll remember it for next time."

"You do that. And go wash your face. You really smell like Edward there. What on earth did he do to you?"

As if she didn't know that. I told her as much.

"I didn't see that. I've been focusing on Dana, and as far as I can tell, she won't try anything stupid during the auditions this afternoon."

"Thank you," Edward said sincerely.

"I'm sorry, Alice. It feels wrong to just bolt while all this is going on."

"Don't be," she admonished. "You were building a bond, which is something you can't help and something you shouldn't want to help. It's a very special thing that you have and I sometimes wish I had such a thing to share with Jasper."

"What you have with Jasper is just as special if nothing else, Alice, and you know that. At least you don't have to endure the risks that we do."

Alice shrugged, but conceded. "It's easier sometimes, I'll admit."

"Where is he, by the way?"

At that, Alice laughed her bell-like laugh, throwing her head back as she did so. "He's pissed at you, so he left into another part of the forest to hunt and ease his frustration somewhat. Then he called, seething, that he could still hear you from miles away…" — she ignored my embarrassed "Oh!" — so I told him I'd meet him once I'd intercepted you both here. Jacob and Ness are waiting in the lunchroom for you, if you hurry you can greet them before you have homeroom. Which I will miss, fortunately."

She pirouetted once before she set off for the forest herself. "Let's see if I can bring out the twenty-year-old in my man," she laughed, and we laughed in response. So she _had_ been seeing what we'd been up to. Vixen.

However much I longed to tackle her and tickle her to death, I wanted to hug Renesmee more, so I took Edward's hand and led the way into the school building again.

My phone buzzed. A text from Emmett.

_It's your turn to truth or dare. We're waiting. Em._

Was he still not finished with this? I texted, _Emmett, TorD?_ back, hoping that he would take a dare.

He chose truth. Drat.

"Ask him why he likes bears so much," Edward whispered as we spotted Renesmee in the lunchroom and waved at her.

"Why?" I vaguely wondered if it would be weird if I hugged my 'sister' in the middle of this crowded place.

"Because they deserve a break, too, don't you think?"

Still not understanding, I did as Edward suggested and asked Emmett why he liked bears so much. The answer was as surprising to me as it was sweet.

_If it wasn't for bears, I wouldn't have Rosalie._

A big smile almost split my face in half. Yes, as soon as Rosalie saw this message they would also spend the next hour someplace remote, I guessed. I was still grinning as I looked up from my phone, straight into Jacobs face.

"Jeez, Bells, so happy to see me?"

"Always," I breathed, batting my lashes mockingly, and his face screwed up in fake disgust. Before he could reply however, the bell rang. "All well?" I asked Renesmee quickly.

She nodded, grinning, her copper curls bouncing across her face. "You know," she whispered lowly, "as my parents you're not really giving me the good example, sneaking off and ditching whenever you can."

We laughed at her observation. "When you've been through your first high school cycle, I officially give you leave to do whatever you want. But for now, please do not follow our example."

"Will do. Besides, I'm having fun. D'you know what's up in Health? Sex education."

I laughed with Ness at the prospect, but Edward looked alarmed. "Aren't you too young for that? You have to be eighteen, legally, so perform any such type behavior."

Renesmee shrugged. "Apart from the fact that 'any such type behavior' is none of my concern as yet, I think it's a good thing they do this early, instead of ignoring it and leaving it too late. The rate of teenage pregnancies around here is staggering."

I loved it when she mocked her father with the ancient language he sometimes still used, I couldn't help it. I also loved it that she didn't push Edward's buttons by mentioning he was still 'seventeen' and as such would never be allowed to perform in, well, any such type behavior.

"Kids, please leave for your classes," a teacher requested, interrupting and effectively ending our conversation. As I looked around me I saw the canteen was empty. We were going to be late.

We said our quick goodbyes and I gave in to the temptation to hug Renesmee. To my surprise, she hugged me back fiercely.

Edward took my hand again as we walked towards our homeroom classroom together. He gave it a gentle squeeze before he spoke. "Do you think Renesmee is ready for this type of knowledge?"

I knew what he was referring to immediately. And I understood his worries. After all, although she looked and acted the part of a sixteen-year-old, she had been on this earth for only seven years.

"I honestly don't know," I admitted. "But she's going to find out one way or the other, and I'd much rather she learns about these things in a safe environment and before she really loses her innocence."

"You're right, as usual." He looked at me then, amber eyes intense. "Do you think I am too overprotective of her?"

I shook my head vigorously. "Yes and no. You are her father and she is your only daughter. Of course you are protective."

We'd reached the ladies' restroom and I paused. "I want to wash my face a bit, I do smell a lot like you."

Edward grinned and wagged his eyebrows at me. "Anything you don't like about that?"

I snorted and pushed open the door, surprised to see that he stepped in after me. He went to stand behind me and I laughed as I realized what he was doing. His hands snaked around my waist and he bent his body with mine as I bent forward to splash some water in my face.

I bumped my rear backwards a bit and he laughed, his face resting between my shoulder blades.

"This really is a very comfortable position," he mused, tightening his grip around me and nuzzling his cheek against my back. "I think I'll stay like this for a while."

Not understanding what he meant, I tried to get up. I didn't succeed. He was holding me in his iron grip, and I couldn't move an inch even if I tried. I shook with laughter as I to no avail tried to release myself from his hold.

"I think I'll take a nap," he murmured, and he tightened his grip a little more.

I leaned my elbows on the sink and gave in. Edward was so much stronger than me, it really was no use to try and fight him. If I would try, this feeble restroom would probably not survive, which would be hard to explain to unsuspecting humans.

As soon as I relaxed, Edward let me go. I raised my eyebrows in surprise and started to say, "Wow, you're done quick—" but he picked me up in one swift movement and shoved me into one of the toilets. He locked the door behind him and placed two long fingers over my lips, warning me with his eyes.

A second later, the door of the restroom banged open and I recognized Dana's scent immediately. I squeezed my eyes shut in frustration and bit back a groan. A very low, very faint warning rumble escaped from my chest, but I wasn't really worried about that as humans would never be able to hear it.

"Hey, Jodi, want to borrow my new lip gloss again? The color suits you."

"Yeah, okay," Jodi agreed. Some shuffling, rummaging through bags and the sound of a tube being unscrewed.

"Have you seen Edward at lunch?"

"No, I didn't see him, he wasn't at the table the sat on yesterday, but then again they also spent lunch elsewhere on Monday, didn't they?" Jodi asked in return.

"It was so weird," Dana gushed, "just as the bell rang he left the classroom with his sister, and he was looking… I don't know, tense."

I started to move from Edward's grip. I was going to put an end to this once and for all. Edward however would have none of it and he restrained me with a force that was way out of proportion to fulfill its goal.

_Okay, point taken, I'll be quiet. _I did roll my eyes though.

"Maybe he was fighting with his sister?" Jodi offered. "I mean, they _are_ siblings, and you fight with Mark like, all the time."

I looked up at Edward in utter surprise at this and his eyes crinkled as he smiled. _Mark_? Jodi's comment about some of the students not even greeting their siblings suddenly made more sense.

As did Mark's comment about knowing what it is to change schools in the middle of the semester.

"Don't get me started on him," Dana snarled. "He's such an ass. But I'm not sure if Edward was fighting with his sister. He didn't look angry. Anyway, you have to lure that sister away from him sometime. I want to get him alone."

Jodi sighed so softly only we could hear it. "Tell me what I should do."

"I'll think of something. God, my hair is God-awful today. Have you seen Edward's hair, by the way? The way it was this morning… I don't know what he does with it, but damn!"

"Out-of-bed-hair," Jodi agreed.

"No, sex-hair," Dana countered, and Jodi giggled.

"Just-fucked-hair," I mouthed at Edward, and he showed his patented crooked smile.

"Everything about that guy just oozes sex," Dana said dreamily. "I'd love to get a feel of his hair," I laced my fingers through Edward's hair as she said it, "or his lips, maybe." I traced Edward's lips with my fingertips, and he surprised me by sucking my index finger into his mouth. My knees buckled and Edward snaked his arms around me to keep me upright.

This was one wicked, and dangerous, game.

Edward softly bit down on my finger and swirled his tongue around it and I had to bite my lip to keep quiet. He wagged his eyebrows at me suggestively and I shook my head, smiling still. Dana, in the meantime, just kept on going.

"And that body, oh my Lord, it was rock hard when I fell into him last Monday. I'd give a dear thing to see him without his clothes on."

I cocked my eyebrow at her comment and Edward rolled his eyes. "Horrible girl," he muttered under his breath after he'd reluctantly let go of my finger. I sucked it into my own mouth immediately, and his eyes got wide as he saw what I was doing.

His slender fingers closed around my wrist and slowly pulled my finger out from between my lips, before he softly pressed his lips on mine. He pressed his body flush against mine quietly, his fingers trailing in my hair and his kiss deepening with a silent, intense urge.

We were stone-cold creatures, but this was _hot_.

Edward pulled open his secret drawer of kissing techniques as Dana kept on gushing. It was a good thing he was holding me upright already. The only muscle that was still functioning in my body was my tongue.

It was such a shame he got distracted as Dana started to nag about me. Edward pulled back and, gaze locked with mine, stood frozen to listen.

"That sister of his gets on my nerves, though. Stupid bitch. She hovers around him like she has a claim on him or something."

_Hmm, I do,_ I mused with lowered shield as I fluttered my ringed finger beside my face. Edward's eyes lit up, as they always did when I acknowledged the fact that we were married.

"There's something off with her though. I can't put my finger on it. It's the same with the blondie, whatsherface."

"Rosalie?"

"Rosalie. Weird name for a weird girl."

"You know," Jodi said hesitantly, "I think Edward is really fond of his sister, and she of him. If you want to get to him, maybe you should try to be nice to her."

The silence that followed was almost eerie. I could only imagine the look of horror that must be on Dana's face. I could also imagine this look would mirror mine.

"That will be hard, but you may be right. Come on, let's get moving or Patrick will have a fit."

They trailed out of the restroom, leaving me and Edward looking at each other.

"I'm sorely tempted to consider home schooling, do you know that?" I breathed.

Edward chuckled and kissed me lightly, then took my left hand and kissed my ringed finger. "Let's get moving, or _Patrick _will have a fit."

It was my turn to chuckle.

"Was it as bad for you when you were in high school before?" I asked as we walked to our homeroom class.

"Oh, no, it was worse."

"How so?"

"Well, you see, most of the students had the common sense to stay away, but there was this one girl that kept seeking us out. To make it worse, she was my singer…"

I slapped him in his arm, then met his gaze. "Do you miss it?"

He stopped in front of the door of the classroom, his hand on the door handle. "What?"

"My scent. Do you miss it?"

He didn't answer me, but opened the door and motioned for me to get in.

I looked at him, surprised, and a little concerned, but I did as he asked and walked into the classroom.

"Ah, so you've finally decided to join us!" Mr. O'Neil exclaimed over the voices of the talking students. Several of them looked up, including Jodi and Dana.

I just shrugged. I did _not_ want to deal with this special case right now. I sat down at an empty desk and Edward sat down beside me, looking thoughtful.

Sure enough, Mr. O'Neil sought us out immediately. As he had done on our first day, he took a chair and straddled it, facing us. "Care to explain why you are so late?"

I looked at the teacher and tried to keep the glare from my eyes. I bit back about five snarky remarks before I settled for the truth. "I wanted to wash my face a bit before we came in, sir."

Of course he didn't ask further, so I could have fabricated a reason. Not Mr. _Patrick_ O'Neil. He just looked at me, then at Edward.

"I fell over and got mud in my face, that's why," I added, chagrined now. I placed my hand on Edward's arm, in a loving gesture I hoped would clear this teacher's suspicions.

Mr. O'Neil looked at my hand and met my eyes for a long moment. I didn't look away.

"I would appreciate it if you come into my class on time."

"We're sorry, sir. It won't happen again," Edward said sincerely. How he pulled that off was a mystery to me.

Mr. O'Neil looked at him for a long moment before he spoke again. "Where are your other brother and sister?"

_Outside in the forest, performing all kinds of unspeakable behavior I would dearly like to perform with my beloved husband right now._

"They had other obligations, obviously," Edward said, annoyed now. "I don't monitor their every breath."

I had to look away to not laugh at that.

"Fair enough," Mr. O'Neil conceded hesitantly. "If you see them again, please ask them to visit my office."

We both nodded, eager for this teacher to leave.

As soon as Mr. O'Neil got up, I turned to Edward. He looked at me from the corner of his eye. "He really wants to become your best friend," he scowled. "He wants you to share your secrets with him, and only him."

"That was not what I was going to ask, but it's nice to know," I replied, frowning.

"I always wondered how people could think what they think, but this is outrageous," he hissed. "He has vivid mental images about you breaking down with him so he can be your hero."

I frowned again — or maybe my frown had never left my face. "Has he done that before, with other girls?" The man would need some sort of benchmark for this, wouldn't he?

"It seems girls are easily drawn to him and they come to him with all their little worries, and he loves it when they trust him enough to tell him their story. With us, he thinks that something very serious is wrong."

Well, gah.

"But what does he do? Does he date them or something?" God forbid, but I knew such things happened.

"No, he just wants to be their equal."

Well, I that did reassure me a little. I looked up at the teacher, who was now squatting at a table with four girls, smiling indulgently. How did I ever think I would get along with this man? "Should I tell him how I cannot sleep because some annoying brunette is lusting after my husband?" I asked from the corner of my mouth.

It worked — he laughed. "It might just work. Now, about that little fantasy of yours—"

"Hi Edward."

Sweet mother of Jesus. I could barely hide the audible snap with which my jaws came together. Edward's warning hand on my leg let me know that I was probably growling just a bit too loudly as well.

"Dana," Edward nodded.

"Where were you during lunch? I couldn't find you anywhere and I wanted to introduce you to my friends."

Edward looked up at her, his face carefully expressionless. "I have no interest in meeting your friends, Dana," he said flatly. "In fact, I have no interest in getting to know you, at all."

Where were those pompons when you needed them? I wanted to cheer all right!

Dana looked at Edward, stunned. Her mouth fell open and her shoulders slumped a little. "You don't?"

Edward nodded solemnly. "I don't."

The expression on Dana's face shifted from disappointment to anger. "Why not?"

"Why would I?" Edward retorted.

Dana looked down at herself, gesturing up and down her body with her hands. "What's not to like?"

Did she _really_ just do that?

"You, Dana. I don't like you. I am not interested in you."

I loved my husband. So much.

Dana cocked an eyebrow at Edward and I was starting to wonder how long he was going to drag this out. His hand on my leg, hidden under the table, warned me quite firmly to keep quiet though, so I did.

"You haven't even given me a chance," Dana pouted. "You should at least go out on a date with me, so I can change your opinion." The look on her face bordered on ridiculous, but I think she was going for seductive.

Just as I was about to inform our girlfriend that she didn't need to bother, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Alice.

_Don't. Trust me._

Why, why, _why_ would she not let me tell Dana that Edward was mine, and mine alone? Although Alice was out with Jasper and I wanted to give them their time alone, I was very tempted to call her right this moment and ask her what the hell was going on. However, I knew better than to bet against Alice, so I kept my mouth shut anyway.

Dana had seen me getting out my phone to read the text and with one last meaningful look at Edward, she turned for Mr., _Patrick_, O'Neil.

"Patrick?" she crooned.

Mr. O'Neil's head shot up when he heard his name and he smiled when he saw Dana.

"I thought telephones were not allowed inside the school?" Dana asked sweetly.

Did she _really_ just _do_ that?

"They are not, Dana. Why do you ask?" he asked, approaching our table and looking from me, to Edward, to Dana.

"Because I saw Bella with her phone just now," Dana whined. "Why would she get to use her phone in school?"

_Note to self: lynch Alice as soon as she is within leaping reach._

"Did you use your phone, Bella?"

"No, sir," I said flatly.

"She is lying," Dana accused. "I saw her reading a text message just now."

Why was she doing this?

Mr. O'Neil sighed and held out his hand. "I'm afraid I will have to take it from you, Bella. You will get it back tomorrow."

This was not the normal procedure and I saw that Mr. O'Neil knew this as well. I looked at Edward from the corner of my eye. He was looking ahead, his eyes unfocused. I realized he must be having a silent conversation with Alice. Was she close by again? He was going to be no help now, anyway, and it would attract unwanted attention if I tried to get him focused again. Where was the man when you needed him?

"Mr. O'Neil," I started, holding my phone under the table in my lap still, "I believe you have to catch me in the act before you are allowed to confiscate my phone? And only then after a warning has been given?"

Finally, Edward seemed to become aware again of what was happening around him. Just then, my phone vibrated again in my hands. I was glad that Mr. O'Neil wouldn't be able to hear the buzzing sound over the noise in the class. Edward heard, though, and he jerked his head a little into the direction of the sound.

"Bella, hand me your phone or you'll have to explain yourself at the principal's office this afternoon."

What on earth was this man talking about? Why was he making the rules up as he went along? But then again, this afternoon? Ness would have her audition this afternoon! I would not miss that for the world, and certainly not for something as silly as a phone. I had to give in. I had to see Ness.

That didn't stop me from rolling my eyes as I brought the phone from my lap to above the table. My curiosity was roaring but I would not be able to read the received message now.

Mr. O'Neil held out his hand again and I looked at him. Then I turned off my phone, and what I saw in his eyes was exceptionally disturbing. I saw disappointment.

Even Edward frowned, probably at Mr. O'Neil's thoughts. Dana stood looking at us, an incredible smug smile on her face. A lot of other students had picked up on what was happening as well, so we had an audience.

I considered getting my SIM-card out, but I needed a special tool to open my phone and retrieve the small chip. I could try opening the phone without the tool, but I would probably smash the whole thing in the process. With a deep sigh, I placed my phone into Mr. O'Neil's waiting hand, all the while carefully avoiding skin contact.

"Thank you," he said. "You can come pick it up this afternoon."

This afternoon? Didn't he just say that he was going to keep it until tomorrow? I wouldn't be here this afternoon. I would be with Ness. Oh, well, I could do without the phone. I hoped Mr. O'Neil wasn't going to try and hack it to get my messages. I hadn't taken my time to delete them as yet. And Edward's paper planes I had saved purposefully. Those promises I wanted him to fulfill. Badly. Hmmm…

I frowned at Mr. O'Neil's back before I directed my glare at Dana, who was still standing at our table, looking expectantly at Edward. Then I looked at Mark, who was looking at us as well. I noticed for the first time that he and Dana had exactly the same eyes.

"Are you happy now?" I snarled, looking back at Dana.

"Exceptionally," Dana answered, before she turned on her heels and went back to the table with her — squealing — gang.

Oh, what my evil mind wanted to do to that girl…

I looked at Edward, who finally spoke. His eyes were flat black with anger, but I knew he wasn't angry with me. A rush of love washed over me as I saw him so protective, I couldn't help it. "O'Neil wants you alone, that's why he wants you to collect your phone this afternoon."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Figures. But I can do without that phone. I want to see Ness's audition."

Edward nodded, his hand back on my leg and rubbing soothing circles, although it was probably to reassure himself more than me.

"Why on earth did Dana tell on me?"

"She thinks I hate you, because she thinks she has seen us fighting. She thought I would appreciate it if she put you in a bad light with the teacher. It's what she often does with Mark."

"Does she, now? Maybe Mark will tell her about us?" I asked hopefully.

Edward harrumphed. "Mark and Dana have not had one civilized conversation in years. He's not going to share his knowledge with her because he sees we are happy. Alice was right, though. Dana really shouldn't know."

This made me angry and I turned to Edward to face him. "Why, Edward? Why can she not know about us? For heaven's sake, is it really worth all this anguish?"

He raised one eyebrow in warning, but I knew I was still talking quietly enough to not be overheard.

"Dana might attack you if she knows. It'll expose us when she tries to harm you." He winced when he spoke these words.

"I'm pretty sure I'll see such a thing coming, so I can prevent her hitting me," I hissed. "Damn it, Edward. I knew we wouldn't be shouting it off the rooftops that we are married, but I _really_ don't see why Dana cannot know we are a couple. I'll just dodge her when she tries something."

Edward looked at me and his jaws snapped together audibly in his tension. "You wouldn't. Alice has seen it happen. It's a probable outcome."

My mouth fell open at his revelation. Would Dana really be able to get to me that way? If I said that this didn't offend me, I would lie. But if indeed I wouldn't be able to avoid her, and she would attack me, indeed it would risk exposure. I did not want to put my family into that risk. I couldn't. I had brought them so much trouble already, both before and after my change.

I scowled fiercely, swallowed thickly and balled my fists. "Okay. But if it ever comes to it, I will not deny you," I swore. "I won't ever deny you."

When I looked into Edward's eyes again, they were lightening up quickly, turning into blazing gold and radiating a love that was almost tangible. "I know. Nor I you. Never."

Blessing or curse, I'm not sure, but the bell rang and we were interrupted just in time before yet another bond could start to build.

I wondered how this could happen twice within hours. Usually, if we had one or two a week it was a lot. Plus it had never really happened in crowded places. Maybe we did need to speak to Carlisle about this.

I had smelled Alice and Jasper outside the classroom even before the door opened. She peeked in, wary, but grinned when she caught my glare.

"If it weren't virtually impossible, I _would_ try to kill you right now," I hissed, softly enough to not be heard over the noise of the students, but loud enough so I was sure Alice would hear.

Alice grinned even wider.

I started to leave the classroom with Edward as Mr. O'Neil called. "Bella?" Noooooooo… "Yes." The man had got to learn when to let things go already. Behind me, Edward walked away as if he couldn't care less, but I knew he was listening.

"Come pick up your phone this afternoon."

"Mr. O'Neil, I won't be able to. My… sisters are trying out for cheerleader and I wouldn't miss that for the world."

"Are you really that close to your siblings?"

I didn't even try to hide my annoyance anymore. "Yes, Mr. O'Neil, we really are _that_ close to each other. Is that so special?"

He was at least a little taken aback with my answer and he cleared his throat before he spoke again. "I guess not. You obviously don't think it's special."

That man was making my skin crawl. "I obviously don't. Can I go now?"

"You don't want your phone back?"

Well, I did, but my daughter was infinitely more important than a piece of technology that could be instantly replaced.

"Mr. O'Neil, I told you I won't be able to be here this afternoon. I can pick it up tomorrow at homeroom. That's fine."

"Wow, Bella, what's taking you so long! You're not trying to bribe the teacher for an A, are you?" Alice chirped behind me, knowing full well what she was doing and how grateful I would be for it.

"No, she isn't," Mr. O'Neil laughed humorlessly. "You go, before you are late for your next class."

Before I could reply, Alice was tugging me out of the room. "I think I hate the man," I muttered when we caught up with our men.

"He's seeking you out, he wants to get you alone," Alice replied.

"No shit," I cursed, shoving my hands into my pockets.

Edward came up beside me and slipped his arm comfortingly around my waist. "Do you want to leave?"

"I don't want to miss Ness." In the back of my mind however I knew full well that Edward wouldn't want that either.

"We'll be back in time. Come on, let's get out of here."

"Is it okay if we come?" Alice asked.

"Do you have to ask? You've seen the outcome, haven't you?" The smug look on her face bugged me especially right now.

Alice shrugged. "I thought you liked to have the illusion of choice now and then."

"God, I think I hate you too," I scowled, but I was grinning again. "So where are we going?"

"Doesn't matter," Edward said as he held me tighter. "But we're going away from this hell hole, that's for sure."

Alice and Jasper preceded us as we walked towards the exit of the school.

"It kind of sucks that I'm without my phone now," I said. "I hadn't deleted everything yet. Your paper planes are still on it."

Edward threw his head back and laughed. "Okay, now I'm almost hoping that O'Neil _will_ succeed in hacking your phone."

"_Will_ succeed? As in, he's going to try?"

"He will, but no worries, he won't get there," Alice said without looking back. "Catch, by the way," she added, and without looking threw a phone over her shoulder, which I deftly plucked out of the air.

"It's all set up and everybody has your new number."

"When did you do this?" I asked. "Wait, you _knew…_?"

"Yes, I knew," Alice finally looked back over her shoulder at me, "and it was more important that Dana didn't know about you than you having to go for maybe ten minutes without your phone. Stop sulking."

I just huffed. Stop sulking, indeed.

* * *

_So, Mark and Dana seem to know each other... Will that have any consequences? And Edward has finally told Dana he isn't interested, huzzah!_

_What will happen with Patrick O'Neil? And why has Edward never sent me a paper plane?  
_

_I write as fast as I can. I do. But there are other things that want my attention; real life, 2 jobs and a boyfriend being some of them._

_Please, press review and send me some love :) _


	13. The Audition

**A/N I don't own Twilight. I do own this plot.**

_Hello everyone, thank you for all the reviews. And thank you for your patience. I feel so guilty to keep you waiting, but I honestly do everything I can to write as fast as possible. _

_Thanks as ever to Sherryola, my awesome beta who hugged me and provided me with virtual chocolate whilst I was fighting my writer's block. Her faith in me brought back my own confidence that I might be able to write this story. Thank you missy, you know what you mean to me._

_This chapter brings you the audition, and some Cullen banter, as per usual. Enjoy!  
_

* * *

We ended up in the forest, standing in a circle because none of us felt like sitting down in the muck. And as it didn't really matter for our comfort if we were either standing or sitting down, it wasn't that much of a deal.

It didn't rain, fortunately. The wind blew softly around us and brought us all kinds of scents, from wet wood and leaves to humans, and somewhere to the North, some elk.

Emmett and Rosalie joined after a while, and Alice and I could not stop grinning as we took in the state of them both. Alice went to tend over the disarray of Rosalie's hair, while I walked over to Emmett.

"You, um, you've got some muck in your hair." I tried to keep my face composed while I spoke, but failed miserably.

Emmett shot a glare at me, but tilted his head to let me help him get it out. I grinned, I couldn't help it, but I helped him nevertheless. Emmett really was my big brother in every possible way and I hugged him playfully when I was done.

"See?" Alice said as she kept on fussing with Rosalie's hair at inhuman speed, "it's not about being let on top. It's about getting on top."

I looked around at Alice, who was now watching me with a knowing look.

"Then why is Rosalie such a mess as well?"

"Bella, do you _ever_ listen to what I say?" Alice sighed. "It's not about _who_ lets _who_ go on top. It's about _getting_ on top."

Finally, it clicked, and everybody laughed with me, Jasper the loudest of them all.

"I'm disappointed in you, Rose," I said. "I thought you were such a tough girl?"

She just raised one eyebrow at me. "What are we doing here, anyway?"

"Not being in school," Edward deadpanned. "We'll go back in time for the audition, but I for one found I could no longer bring it up to sit up and present paw."

"Why, Edward, and here I thought you were always the one to obey the rules," Rosalie sneered playfully.

"Yes, well, things have changed," Edward murmured as he pulled me against him and pressed his face against my hair. "I find it shockingly difficult to concentrate on things other than my wife or daughter."

Rosalie snorted. "Wow Bella, you've really beaten some sense into him!"

We all grinned at it and Emmett finished the joke by walking over to Edward and looking closely at some invisible spot on his forehead. "Yep, there's a definite thumb print over there."

Edward released me to push Emmett away, who then charged at Edward within the blink of an eye, trying to tackle him. Edward stayed put and Emmett just shoved him backwards, while Edward kept his feet firmly in the ground. A deep trail remained in the muck.

"Easy, guys," Alice warned. "We're very close to humans here."

"We'll finish this tonight," Emmett said decidedly.

Edward rolled his eyes at him, but before he could finish his movement, Emmett spoke again. "And Bella will shield me."

"Will she?" I asked. "Why would she?"

"Because I am right," Emmett said, folding his arms across his chest. "And I fight for my right."

We all laughed at his word play, and Emmett looked exceptionally smug at his succeeded joke.

I wanted to talk with them about Dana, but then decided against it. We were all in a good mood, and I did not want to spoil this spirit. Besides, I still refused to let Dana become a real problem. I could talk to Alice when we got home.

The moment I thought that, Alice looked up at me and nodded once.

Yes, after all these years I finally got the hang of these silent conversations.

"So, Bella, you need ringtones, I have heard," Alice then started, out of the blue.

I looked at her, immediately suspicious. I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips as I asked, "why, dear sister?"

Edward had caught on immediately, of course, and grinned wickedly. "You can't go with these standard jingles," he clarified. "Alice, why don't you start?"

"Oh, excellent," the pixie said, rubbing her hands. "Bella, give me your phone."

I took a step backwards, placing my hand protectively over the pocket where the brand new phone was held. "No."

"Bella, I _will_ fight you for it, and I _will_ win. Believe me."

Edward nodded frantically and I did have the distinct feeling they were ganging up against me. On the other hand, I would never bet against Alice. Very, very reluctantly, I handed Alice my phone.

"Yay!" she squealed, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Her fingers worked frantically on the touch screen and she frowned when the device couldn't keep up with her. Finally, she was where she wanted to be, apparently, because she motioned for us to be silent and started speaking in her bell like voice, "Pick up the phone, Bella. You know you can. Come on, pick up, pick up pick up pick up. I wouldn't call you if it weren't important! Okay, I'm counting to three. One, two…"

"By then you should have picked up," she chuckled after she was done. Then she handed the phone to Rosalie, whose eyes were gleaming in anticipation. This time I did roll my eyes, and I started to wonder what my other siblings would come up with. I was afraid some of the new ringtones would not be as innocent.

Rosalie had gotten ready to record now and her message was pretty tame, but all the while entirely Rosalie: "You're lucky I'm calling you. Be grateful. Pick up."

We chuckled, and the phone passed to Emmett, who was almost bouncing in anticipation. His contribution was a Tarzan-scream that I was sure had been heard in a ten-mile radius around us.

"Never call me," I wheezed out when we were all done laughing a bit. If I could have cried with laughter, I would have done so.

Jasper, who had been very quiet so far, was next. He just used his deep Southern accent and was almost unintelligible when he said, "I strongly advice you pick up you phone, ma'am."

I really wondered why I had been so afraid to give my phone to Alice. This was all just funny and pretty innocent.

Edward had slightly different plans though, and by the time it was his turn, he pulled me deeper into the forest with him. When we were reasonable far away, he stood back against a tree in a wide stance, so I could stand between his legs. He hooked his fingers through the belt loops of my jeans and pulled me flush against him.

I would never tire of that feeling and I hummed my agreement, although I wondered why Edward had taken me here and what he was up to.

He surprised me by pulling me closer against him still, signaling for me that I should put my entire weight against him. Then he placed the phone between our chests with his slender hands and started to kiss my neck immediately in that spectacular way that made me melt from the inside out. I copied his actions and kissed the spot underneath his ear, gently nipping and sucking the sweet skin there. His hands traveled around my waist and with splayed fingers he pressed my body tighter against his, his hips gently rocking forward to complete the connection further.

His purr started immediately and I worked with double fervor as soon as I found out what he was up to, trying desperately to remain quiet myself.

My hands trailed up to his head and traveled through his copper hair, touching the nape of his neck that was so sensitive to him. My ministrations made him purr even louder, it reverberated through my own chest.

Even when I was quite sure the recording was long enough to be transformed into a ringtone, Edward kept me tightly against his hard body, still kissing me.

After what felt like an eternity, but in reality must have been a couple of minutes, he let go and looked into my eyes. He didn't even need to speak to let me know what he was feeling at that moment. The shit-eating grin I felt spreading on my own face was clear enough a message to him, as well.

"I like this," I breathed, noticing how he inhaled as I spoke.

"Me too," he answered, his lips curling up in that devilish crooked smile. "And I want more of it."

"I think it can be arranged." I tilted my head a little and he came forward to kiss me swiftly, nipping at my lower lip before he softly licked it, seeking entrance to my mouth.

I had never been much of a sweet tooth, but I would never get enough of the sweetness of his venom. We kissed like it was the first time we could kiss in this way, and his hands trailed up into my hair, pulling ever so gently to tip my head back so he could deepen the kiss, making me growl lowly somewhere deep inside my chest.

As long as I had this, I could be happy enough.

We walked back to the rest leisurely, swinging our intertwined hands between us and grinning like idiots.

"Very seventeen-year-old," Alice commented, but before she was done talking, she lifted her head up to the skies. "It will rain soon. Let's go back. We don't have time to get dry clothes."

We hung out in a deserted hallway after that, neither of us feeling like going back to whatever class we were supposed to be having. Edward apparently thought that this was an excellent opportunity to have bodily contact with me constantly, and he stood behind me and wrapped me cozy tight in his arms.

"Was it like this before as well?" I asked curiously. "I mean, did you skip as many classes when I wasn't around yet?"

"No," Jasper said, "I think we skipped even more. So far we've been pretty agreeable, I think."

"You ever get into trouble?"

Emmett laughed so loudly it echoed off the walls. "When didn't we? Remember that time we almost set the empty chemistry lab on fire?" he asked Jasper with a chuckle.

Jasper started laughing in response, but both men got fierce scowls from their respective wives, making me even more curious of course. Emmett and Jasper tried to compose themselves again, but couldn't hide the gleam in their eyes.

"What did you do?" Curiosity was burning and I wasn't going to let this go, although I never meant this with my question.

Jasper looked down, almost as if he was embarrassed, when he started talking. His lips curled into a shy chuckle when he spoke. "We wanted to see if our venom would burn."

Suddenly, I wasn't so sure anymore if I wanted to hear this at all. "Do I want to know how?"

"Oh, it was pretty innocent. Spit into a Petri dish and drop a match."

"We wanted to try some other fluids," Emmett said, wagging his eyebrows, "But Jasper here was too chicken to do it."

Rosalie smacked Emmett in his arm, and he trapped her into his arms so swiftly his motions were almost a blur. I was always fun to see his bulky figure to lithe and fast. Rosalie squealed, struggling, but Emmett didn't let go. He put a wet smooch of a kiss on her cheek and only then set her down again. Rosalie tried to look annoyed, patting her hair to gain some composure. The sparkle in her eyes was harder to hide, of course.

I, however, still wanted to hear the story. "And then?"

"Well, let's say the flames were green, and explosive, and glass can burn when it's covered in our venom," Emmett chuckled.

My eyes widened. "What?"

"It burnt a hole through the table and into the floor. We couldn't find any remnants of the glass dish afterwards, nor where there ashes from the table," Jasper clarified.

"Nor from a part of the ceiling," Emmett added.

"There was a foot deep crater in the floor," Jasper said then, and I looked from the one to the other like I was watching a tennis match.

"And the smell remained for weeks."

"Which amazingly mostly females found very attractive," Jasper said, an eyebrow cocked as if he was still surprised about that.

"What a mystery that was," Emmett reminisced. "Good times."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Incorrigible."

"You love it. Admit it."

We hid out in the hallway until it was time to go to the audition, chatting and bantering or just making out with our partners. It all suited me fine.

"Oh, crap," Alice murmured as we were walking towards Ness's last class to pick her up. "I believe our absence has been noticed. The school's going to call Carlisle. I'll warn him." She was done sending the text even before she had finished her sentence.

We collected a buzzing Ness, followed by a Jacob who was picking up her vibe and going along with it. I took Ness's hand in mine and she showed me her day, the Sex Ed lesson specifically. She had me wheezing with laughter before long, Edward going along with us. Rose and Alice had a nice little bitch slap fight as the decided who got to hold Renesmee's other hand, but I hardly noticed it as I was drowning in her visions.

The woman had rolled down a condom on a broomstick, and Jake had commented that he thought condoms were supposed to be tight fitting, not that loose? The woman had spluttered something in reply, but the rest of class had been set off and made one relentless joke after the other, rendering the woman speechless.

Then they were given a lecture on STDs then, and Ness wondered idly if she were even in danger of getting those.

"Just rabies, I think," Rosalie muttered.

Jake rolled his eyes. Fortunately, we arrived at the gym then, ending a fight between Jake and Rosalie before it could begin.

Renesmee was instantly nervous again, but I could see she was biting her tongue to not ask Alice if she knew the outcome of the audition. Although Alice could not really see Renesmee, she could see around her, and after all these years of practice the visions were almost as accurate as if she could see Ness herself.

Jacob was ever less disturbing in her visions as well, because he had calmed down a lot ever since the imprinting. He was less unpredictable, which made it easier for Alice to see. And the headaches around Jacob were less, which was a relief for all of us. Happy Alice was difficult to ignore. Grumpy Alice needed an entire planet for herself and still she wouldn't have enough space.

We trailed into the gym, to find that an audience of several dozen of students had already come to watch. I hugged Ness and then Alice to wish them good luck, and we went to the back to find us a place while Ness and Alice went to change. Several people looked around at us, curiosity or plain enmity edged on their faces. We just looked back and sat down, settling in to watch.

An exited hum resounded through the room. The students were eager to watch. I guessed that not everyone was here to support a contestant. The existing cheerleading squad would give a demonstration before the audition would start, and as I looked at the profoundly masculine audience, I had an inkling they wanted to see just that.

Mark and Jimmy trailed into the gym and Mark called out to us as he saw us. To our mutual dismay, they both came up and sat next to Rosalie, who looked positively dangerous at this development.

The captain of the cheerleading team opened the audition and introduced herself as Linda. She held a short speech, telling what the cheerleading team had accomplished over the last year and what being a cheerleader enhanced. "And first, we will begin with a demonstration!"

The cheerleaders came running out the locker room, all in tight shirts and short skirts, pompons dancing.

"See," Emmett muttered. "What's not to like?"

The group started dancing to music with a heavy beat. Big, all American smiles were planted on the cheerleaders' faces and they danced with the typical staccato movements, jumping and kicking their legs and waving the pompons as they went along. A couple of complicated looking lifts and human pyramids were demonstrated, and the audience applauded loudly every time. I wondered idly if I would be able to pull these things off, being a vampire now and all.

After the demonstration, Linda came to the front again. She looked only slightly flustered after having just performed the intense routine. "And now, the audition! Being a cheerleader means you have to have many qualities. Being able to dance in front of an audience is one of them, and that's why you are here," she concluded, then turned to the group of nervous girls in mainly sports clothes. "Okay people, let's line up, five people a line, and follow after me!"

Linda led a quick warm-up and the fifteen people that were auditioning followed suit. The music was up beat with a catching rhythm that pounded in my ears. The difference between the contestants was striking — not only in terms of grace and ease of movement, also in terms of endurance was it clearly visible who could handle it, and who couldn't.

Although I looked at Ness and Alice mostly, my eyes darted along the others as well, and I saw Dana and her pack struggling at the back. An insanely happy grin escaped when I saw that she was out of breath already.

I looked up at Edward to see if he saw Dana too, but he was frowning. I sat up, worried. "What's wrong?"

"I don't like the outfits," he muttered. "It's too exposing."

"You think?" Jasper answered, unasked and unabashed. "I think I like it."

"Oh dear, he's going Dadward," Emmett groaned, and I chuckled in spite of myself.

"_Awk_ward," Alice grinned from where she was dancing with Ness. They both were the personification of ease and grace.

"You must look a little out of breath, but you are being extraordinary," I whispered under my breath at Ness, who was looking at me for reassurance. I gave her a big smile, without a doubt the most motherly of looks on my face. I was so proud with my girl, it made my still heart swell to see her doing this and enjoying it.

As Linda called out to the group that the front line should go to the back and the other two lines should step forward, Emmett put some oil on the flames. "Jake's going to like that outfit. A lot."

Jake kept his cool, for once, fortunately, and just rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away.

Edward however reacted so fiercely that even Mark looked up from behind Rosalie, turning to Emmett and stretching to his full height as best as he could while still sitting, pushing out his chest, the muscles in his neck taut with tension. I noticed his hands were balled into tight fists, tendons standing out.

"Keep your cool, for God's sake, he's just trying to set you off," I muttered, holding his arm. "How long have you known him, really?"

"What's wrong?" Ness asked immediately, not breaking the routine she was dancing.

"Nothing," I said, scowling at Edward. "Don't you worry."

"You've been telling me that an awful lot lately," Ness said, frowning a little. "Still I see you frowning more than I ever have." She kicked her leg high and stretched her arms out, perfectly in time to the music.

"Just dance, Ness," Edward placated her. "You are doing wonderfully. I am proud of you."

At that, a huge smile broke out on her face and she just about enlightened the entire room with it.

When the lines were switched again, Dana was in the front with Jodi and the rest of her friends. As soon as Dana noticed Edward, she didn't look away anymore. She exaggerated her movements, swaying her hips in the most ridiculous way and flipping her hair as she kept looking if Edward would look her way.

He didn't, and he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

"I can shield her," I offered. "I want you to be able to notice Ness. Look how well she is doing!"

And she was. Edward's gaze softened as he focused on his daughter again, and she glowed at the attention. As soon as Edward was distracted, I reached around him and smacked Emmett in the back of his head. Hard. Edward kept looking at Ness, but he grinned wickedly.

"Hey!" Emmett protested. "What was that for?"

"What do you think," I hissed, barely softly enough to not be overheard.

"Careful," Alice warned, now with her back to us as she followed the routine effortlessly. The music was loud, the beat vibrating through our bodies.

Alice and Ness were by far the most agile dancers on the floor, and they were getting more and more envious looks from their competitors.

"I was just calling on Mopeward here," Emmett said slowly, meaningfully, "that he shouldn't go all Dadward all of a sudden, because his girl is growing up."

"Don't meddle with that," Edward said softly, but firmly. "It's hard enough without you messing with us about it."

"Thanks so much," Ness commented dryly, but she winked at us when I caught her gaze.

"Let's just keep quiet and watch," Rosalie placated. "I don't want to miss a second of this just because you'd rather have a catfight."

We all agreed, and watched as our girls learned first one routine, then another. Then they were given exercises that would give an implication of how flexible they were. To my utter amazement — and dismay — Dana was as flexible as a ballerina. Where did she get those skills?

"Oh, Lord," Edward muttered, and I understood immediately that certain images must be running through his head. As an experiment, I shielded Dana. I felt the familiar tug of the rubbery texture of my shield expanding, and I waited until I could locate our brunette. She tasted vile on my tongue and I couldn't help but make a face about it.

Edward looked up in surprise as his head was probably cleared of vivid mental images, and he barked out a laugh when he saw the grimace on my face, understanding immediately why I looked the way I did.

"Figures," he snickered. "But thanks." He kissed me on my cheek, so fast that even I had trouble registering it.

I heard Emmett take a breath to say something, but I interrupted him before he could start speaking. "No, Emmett. We were going to watch. Quietly. Besides," I added, hoping that I was guessing right what he was going to say, "you're still tied to that bet." That one glorious arm-wrestling match I had won all these years ago when I was still a newborn. I smiled smugly and turned to watch my daughter again. Edward's hand rested lightly on my thigh, and he squeezed me softly as we shared our sense of pride. Admitted, we were grinning like idiots, but still. I loved seeing Renesmee as happy as she was now. Before I knew it, I leaned in a little and rested my head on Edward's shoulder.

Hmmm….

Dana just kept looking at Edward. She narrowed her eyes when she saw how I was leaning into him. Then she gauged the look he had on his face, and finally followed his gaze until her eyes landed on our daughter.

I lifted my shield immediately and Edward's eyes widened when he registered what Dana must be thinking. "The girl is insane," he muttered in genuine surprise, but he didn't clarify his accusation. Not that he needed to. I agreed with him anyway.

After the audition, a lot of students lingered to chat a little. Alice and Ness went into the locker room to change again, although they didn't break a sweat of course, and we waited patiently for them to return.

A guy I had never seen before walked over to us. He wasn't unpleasant to look at, with dark blond hair and blue eyes. He reminded me of Mike Newton a little, baby face and all.

He walked up to Edward, and he surprised us all by stopping very close to him, walking straight into his personal space. Edward didn't budge and looked down at the guy, unmoved.

"I've seen you eyeing my girlfriend," the guy stated, puffing out his chest a little.

Oh?

"Who's your girlfriend?" Edward asked, acting oblivious. I was totally distracted by how handsome my husband looked, staring the guy down with a stoic face.

"Like you don't know that," the guy scoffed. "Dana Summers is who she is. She's been telling me how you are trying to hit on her."

I bit my tongue, hard, to not laugh out loud. The guy must be Dennis. Oh, little did he know… Poor man, though. Likely he'd seen Dana ogling Edward during the audition.

"Did I?" Edward asked, one brow raised in his disbelief. "That's news."

"Just don't try anything, mister, because I will find you if you do," the guy said, puffing out his chest a little more.

I was starting to wonder if he actually was going to start a fight. My siblings gathered around inconspicuously, appearing to be uninterested but listening in all the same.

"I promise you, I won't," Edward said sincerely, disdain clear in his voice. "I want nothing to do with her. You are mistaken about my intentions."

"Easy there, Victorian," Emmett muttered under his breath.

An infinitesimally tightening in Edward's jaw and neck told me he had heard and acknowledged him. He was tiring of this conversation as well, I could tell. Minutely, he changed his stance, changing from human façade into something slightly more dangerous. His shoulders straightened and the taut tension in his neck was obvious, even to humans. The way he looked down at Dennis, like he was about to crouch down into an attacking pose, was giving a clear warning to humans. It completely turned me on, however, and I swallowed thickly to focus again on the situation at hand. Behind me, Jasper chuckled, too low for humans to hear.

"Well, consider yourself warned," Dennis spluttered, trying to sound fierce but failing miserably. He obviously got the message and there was nothing left of his aggressive demeanor now. "If you ever look at her again, I will reckon with you."

Edward made a mock little gesture of invitation. "By all means," he said again, but his eyes got hard, and Dennis gulped and scurried away.

I looked after him as he walked up to Dana. She threw his arms around him and kissed him, but she tilted her head and looked around him at Edward all the while. He turned away in disgust. Luckily, Ness decided to show up at exactly that moment and she bounced between us, vibrating with excitement.

"That was fun!"

We laughed at her simple statement and smiled indulgently. God, she must be the most pampered girl on the entire planet, with such a family around her.

"I'm sure you made the team," I said proudly. I was such a goof when it came to our daughter. "You were the best of the bunch."

Renesmee snorted. "You just say that 'cause you're my mother," she said softly, so as not to be overheard.

"I still mean it though," I pressed.

"Nobody gonna be happy for me?" Alice pouted mockingly behind us.

"Of course we are!" Jasper exclaimed, and he scooped her up in an embrace. Their gazes locked and when their lips met for a kiss, we all looked politely away.

Jacob, in the meantime, had scooted his way up to Ness and took her hand, almost shyly. "You were really good," he whispered. "I liked to see you dancing."

Edward's gaze flew up at Jacob, eyes almost black in an instant. Jacob looked at Edward and he lowered his shoulders a little, showing that he didn't mean any harm. I tried to get Edward's attention by touching his arm. "No, no Dadward, Edward. Not here, not now."

He looked at me, anguished. "I don't like it either," I soothed him. "But this is hardly the place and you know it."

He looked at me intently for a long moment. Then I saw his jaw relax and his shoulders sink back into their normal position. Where once Edward had been the voice of reason, somehow when Ness was concerned I had to put a stop on his panic time and again.

"You're right," he said. "Sorry."

"Nothing's gonna happen," Renesmee reassured us as she rolled her eyes. "Jeez."

"Let's just go home," Rosalie offered. "This day has been long enough."

**~O~**

The wrestling match between Edward and Emmett didn't happen. I refused to shield Emmett, because when it came to discussions about parenthood, Edward and I were an unbreakable team. When Emmett then still tried to provoke Edward, making Edward dangerously angry but still refusing to fight, Renesmee stepped in.

"Emmett, leave us alone. You have no idea."

And again she gave us an unsettling insight in how much she really knew and understood.

Emmett looked hurt after that, but he left us alone and even apologized. Only when Renesmee hugged him, did the smile come back on his face. Dimples and all.

Renesmee sought us out after Jacob had gone to bed. Rosalie and Emmett were in the garage, and Alice and Jasper had gone out into the forest. Esme was with Carlisle at the hospital, so the house was pretty quiet.

"You are the best parents ever, just so you know," she stated as she crawled into the bed between us. I tried to shield her body from ours with the comforter, but she simply slapped my hands away.

"I have never seen you all so tense, except when the Volturi came," she said bluntly after a moment of silence. "I don't like it." She rested her head on my shoulder as I stroked her silky hair.

"There is nothing to worry about," Edward soothed. "Really."

"Then why are you frowning so much and having hissy fits every other minute? I don't like it when you fight," she added softly.

That broke my heart. "We don't fight, Ness, we really don't. But the girl Dana just gets on our nerves."

"Why? Can't you just say that daddy isn't interested? That you are married?"

"Well, we can't really say we are married," Edward mused, "because that would be illegal in this state. I have told Dana today that I wasn't interested, but apparently it didn't help."

"You're not telling me everything," Ness sighed. "I'm not a child, you know."

"I beg to—" Edward started, but Renesmee interrupted him with an exasperated sigh.

"Don't go there. Please."

Edward nodded in acceptance, surprising me at how easy he let this go. Maybe Ness was talking to him in her mind as well. She often did that.

"Alice has had some visions that imply we should be on our guards with Dana. As long as we keep our eyes open, everything should be fine," I soothed. I wasn't really sure who I was reassuring, my daughter or myself, but Edward nodded in agreement and I relaxed a little.

"I don't believe you, but okay."

I chuckled softly. Sweet girl.

"Can I sleep with you?" she asked timidly suddenly. "I feel like I've missed you. It's so strange, we look the same age, but you are my parents and I'm technically not even eight years old. And it seems so weird to be wanting your attention like, well, like I am only seven."

This broke my frozen heart. Of course her begging Edward to not mention her age just now had been a mask, and Edward knew that. She still was our little girl.

As if on cue, Edward and I tightened our hold on her and cuddled her so tightly she laughed and asked for mercy to breathe.

"Don't ever feel awkward to ask for our attention," Edward said. "It breaks my heart to know that you feel a distance between us."

Renesmee scooted in a little deeper between us and sighed contently. "You act like teenagers at school. It's so different from when we're at home. It's confusing at times."

"Consider it being one big show," I said. "You like to act, after all."

"I do, don't I?" Then she faked a yawn, displaying an excellent example of sensationally bad acting, and nestled herself to go to sleep.

Before long, her breathing evened out and the mental images I caught by holding her hand blurred into dreamily visions. I kissed her forehead and grasped Edward's hand above the blanket, intertwining our fingers and holding on tightly.

This was my family. And as long as I had them, I knew all would be well.

* * *

_Please, press review. Your reviews encourage me to write!_

_Before I forget - I got the question what a 'paper plane' was. I'll let Emmett send one next chapter, so you will know :)  
_


	14. Interlude

**A/N I don't own Twilight. I own this plot. Please do not meddle with my story without my written permission.**

_Hello everybody. Thanks for the reviews :) I am sorry I am fail at replying. _

_As ever, thanks to my beta Sherryola for things that I cannot even begin to describe in words. She is currently writing a fic I am already in love with, and which she is planning to start posting soon!  
_

_As you may have noticed, updates have slowed down. I am a bit stuck with this story and in my real life things are happening that demand my attention. I will not abandon this story! I will try to update about every 2 weeks. To keep the words flowing, I've written an interlude. It's not real lemon, it's basically fluff. If you don't like that, please skip the first half if this chapter :)  
_

_Song: Cheryl Cole - Parachute_. Enjoy!

* * *

Edward and I stayed still as Ness was sleeping between us, her presence warming both our bodies and our hearts. We talked softly off and on, mainly reminiscing and sharing the joys our parenthood had brought us so far. Perfect vampiric memory made up a little for the fact that Ness had grown so quickly. I could recall every second with perfect clarity.

Renesmee woke very early, stretching and yawning and looking at us with a timid smile and hazy eyes.

"Good morning, sweetheart," I greeted as I pressed a kiss on the tip of her nose. "Did you sleep well?"

She nodded, and stretched again. Then she took a better look at us. "So, you didn't move at all?"

Edward and I both chuckled. We hadn't.

"Now I feel guilty for keeping you here all night," she said, frowning a little.

I hugged her against me, reveling in the heat of her body that was still warm from sleeping. "There's nowhere I'd rather have been than here," I whispered, and at that Ness hugged me back tightly.

"I'm sorry, guess I just needed this."

"Never be sorry for needing attention," Edward said. "You know we can't get enough of you."

Ness smiled shyly at Edward's confession. Then she wiggled herself out of our embrace and off the bed. "I need a shower and a Jacob," she announced, raking a hand through her copper curls. With her hand already on the doorknob, she turned back to us. "Thanks." And with that, she was gone.

Edward huddled deeper under the blankets and pulled me with him, pulling the comforter over our heads and creating a cozy little cave. The lack of light was no problem for our eyes and I saw him just as clearly as I would in full light, albeit in different color tones.

"You and Ness have made my life worth while," he breathed as he lifted my hand to his mouth to kiss each fingertip.

I wanted to object, but the love that radiated from his eyes was so intense it rendered me speechless.

We lay in silence then, listening to the sound of running water as Ness took her shower before she crept into bed with Jacob. Their relationship was still pretty innocent, but I was starting to get worried about when they were ready for the next level. I knew it would only happen when Ness was ready, as Jacob only could be or do what Ness needed or wanted, as per imprinting rules, but still. If Ness thought it was what Jake wanted, she could radiate that want without being ready. And Jacob was all too willing, he was just patiently waiting for Ness to make the first move.

I pushed those thoughts away. I'd deal with them in given time. I didn't want to linger on them too much now, I wanted to share this quiet time with Edward. That's why he surprised me by getting up all of a sudden, pushing the blankets away and leaving me on the bed, feeling exposed and very lonely.

In a flash he was back, and I could hear water running into the large tub our bathroom held. His boyish grin made me grin back at him, and when he slid his arms under my shoulders and legs to lift me up, bridal style, I let him.

He put me down in the bathroom, steam wafting up to the ceiling already. Knowing Edward, he had set the water as hot as it would go. He liked heat even more than I did, something I learned very quickly after I was changed.

"Ness is sleeping," he breathed, before he pressed a soft kiss to my lips. With a gentle touch, he guided me to lift my arms above my head so he could pull my shirt off, tossing it into a corner of the room. Then he slowly pushed the straps of my bra down my shoulders, his deft fingers caressing my skin as he went along. If I still could have gotten gooseflesh, I would have it right now. Reaching behind me with his hands, he pressed his lips to the spot beneath my ear and he unclasped my bra, letting it fall to the floor.

He started peppering a trail of kisses on my right shoulder, along my collarbones, to my left. His fingertips started their journey at my shoulders and he slowly traced them down the back of my arms, down my forearms, until he held both of my hands lightly in his. Stooping a little, his chaste kisses started to change into openmouthed ones as he reached the swell of my breasts. His silken hair tickled ever so softly against my sternum and my breathing picked up speed in anticipation.

I wanted to reach up and weave my hands through his hair, but he gripped my hands a little tighter when I started to move, bidding me to stay where I was. His kisses trailed lower, circling my breast agonizingly slow. Only when he reached the peak did he let go of my hands, lifting me up in one fluid movement so he didn't have to stoop anymore to reach where he wanted to be. My freed hands trailed into his hair immediately out of their own volition, cradling his head against my chest as I let my own head fall back in bliss. With splayed fingers he held me in place against his body, one hand between my shoulders and one resting on my lower back. The way he moved his mouth on me sent bolts of desire directly to my core.

I wanted more.

I tugged his hair a little to get him to put me down again, but he shook his head, leisurely trailing his tongue across my chest before he took the tip of my other breast into his mouth. He bit down softly, suddenly, and I cried out in both surprise and pleasure. Looking down at him, I saw that he was looking up at me with a gleam in his eyes, the corners of his mouth tugging up into a smile. I bit my lip at the look of sheer lust that was etched on his face.

He put me down again, his mouth never leaving my skin. Traveling downwards, he placed hot, openmouthed kisses all over my abdomen, making me giggle when he dipped his tongue into my navel. Kneeling down, he rested his cheek on my stomach for a moment. "Your tummy used to make noises all the time," he murmured. "You never ate enough when you were with me."

Instantly worried, I wanted to gauge his mood before I replied. Was he missing the human Bella? He never replied earlier when I asked him if he missed my human scent, either.

"It was terribly distracting," he continued and he looked up at me with that crooked smile that made my knees go weak. Internally, I let out a sigh of relief. No moping Edward, fortunately.

Before I could think anything further, Edward's fingers had found the strings of my sweat pants and they were off and gone in seconds. He kissed my lower belly, just on the spot where my boy shorts ended and my skin began. Then he hooked his thumbs under the flimsy fabric and pulled it down my legs. Looking back up at me, he inhaled and his eyes turned from already dark to pitch black.

Hmmm… A fresh wave of arousal washed over me, the heady scent mixing with the scent of the bath oils that hung already in the steamy room.

I couldn't hide my smile as he stood back up again, pressing my naked body against his fully clothed one.

"What?" he asked, pulling back a little so he could look into my eyes.

"Nothing, I was just thinking how you always like to undress me like this."

Edward grinned impishly and shrugged. "It's just like unpacking the most beautiful gift in the world."

"Aw, you get a kiss for that," I smiled, and I stood on my tiptoes as he leaned in. When our lips met, the electricity that always seemed to buzz between us, increased tenfold. Our eyes met and we both smiled widely, both still thankful for this incredible bond we shared.

Edward left my embrace briefly to turn off the faucet, then turned back to me. I unbuttoned his rumpled Oxford, kissing and licking every new bit of skin that was exposed. When all buttons were undone and he shrugged the shirt off, I took a moment to admire his glorious body.

My hands made then quick work of his pants and when I got back up again, he captured my face in his hands and kissed me deeply, intensely. We both moaned at the sensation and I raked my nails down his spine, making him arch his back and pressing his body — his arousal — into me.

I let my hands trail from around his back up across his ribs and over his chest, never breaking the kiss. Edward shuddered at my touch and I deepened the kiss even further, as far as that was possible. The venom tasted almost unbearably sweet and still I couldn't get enough of it. I let my hands travel south, but when I took him in my hands he hissed out his breath, stepping back.

His need to please me first had always bordered on ridiculous.

Looking at me, a warning in his eyes still, he stepped into the bathtub first, closing his eyes a moment in delight as he felt the blazing hot water against his skin. Then he held out his hand and I followed suit, sitting down between his legs and leaning back against his chest. His arousal pressed into my lower back. I groaned with pleasure as the water hit my frozen skin, setting every nerve ending even further ablaze.

Edward's hands snaked around my waist and he caressed lazy circles on my stomach as we luxuriated for a moment in the feeling of the hot water on our skins. His hand trailed up to my hair and he massaged the side of my head softly with his fingertips, gently pulling my head back so that it rested on his left shoulder. I hummed my agreement and closed my eyes, enjoying everything I felt.

He leaned in to kiss my temple, then trailed downwards, tracing the shell of my ear with the tip of his tongue before he bit down softly on my lobe. I couldn't help the groan that escaped me, and a pleasant shudder traveled through my entire body when he placed hot openmouthed kisses all the way down my neck towards my shoulder. The hand that had been massaging my head, now cupped it gently to hold it in place in a most comforting manner. His other hand started to move slowly in increasingly bigger circles, making my entire body hum in anticipation.

"Just relax," he whispered in my ear when he felt how worked up was starting to become. His left hand still held my head back on his shoulder and he kept peppering kisses beneath my ear, as his right hand finally traveled upwards and cupped my breast. It was all I could do to not cry out and wake the only two sleeping beings inside the house.

Still softly massaging, Edward lifted his long legs and captured mine underneath his, securing me in place. Then his hand traveled downwards, agonizingly slowly, before he hesitated just above my pelvic bone. Just as I wanted to ask him what he thought he was doing, he turned my head so I was facing him and he captured my mouth with his just as his agile fingers found that sweetest spot, successfully preventing my loud groan to escape.

I reached back and wove my fingers through his hair, pulling his face closer to mine. He deepened the kiss as his fingers kept doing their miracles, bringing me to the edge. I could feel his own arousal pressing urgently in my lower back, but I couldn't reach him from where I was sitting. Instead, my hands rested on the back of his neck and on his thigh respectively, gripping fervently to let him know the level of my need.

I broke the kiss only to gasp for some unnecessary breath, my eyes rolling back and my head pressing back on his shoulder. "Oh, fuck," I breathed, time after time. "Oh, oh fuck."

Of course he took his time. And I couldn't move, as I found out when I wanted to get up and speed things up a bit. My legs where still captured underneath his. I broke our kiss, pulling back just enough so I could look him in his eyes. He only grinned devilishly and continued kissing me again, still moving his hand at the same pace. The coil in my lower belly was wound incredibly tight and still he didn't bring me over the edge. Then he finally tightened his hold on me and started to work with double fervor. Every nerve ending in my body was tingling and a painless fire started blazing at the pit of my stomach. I broke our kissing again to suck in some unneeded air, breathing irregularly and in small gasps.

Edward captured my mouth with his again in time to swallow my cries as I exploded, back arching and legs shaking, and I was never more grateful for his tight arms around me as he kept me grounded against him and then with gentle caresses brought me back down from my high.

I needed a minute to catch my breath again, lying back heavily against his chest. My hand was no longer gripping his thigh, but now gently stroking lazy patterns. I sighed contentedly. When Edward lifted his legs from mine, I seized my chance and broke free from him, turning in the bath and kneeling to face him.

His eyes were pitch black with desire and I saw my own reflection in them. Even vampires could look flustered, it would seem.

Not wasting anymore time or opportunity, I leaned forward to kiss my husband, softly tracing my nails from his chest down his abdomen. I smiled against his lips as a violent shudder traveled through his body, his hands gripping the edge of the bathtub. I moved my lips from his and trailed my kisses downwards, kissing him all over his glorious chest. When I reached the brim of the water, I looked up at him from under my lashes before I sunk my head down, my mouth disappearing under the water, still kissing his abdomen. Taking an unnecessary breath through my nose, I got further down, until only my eyes were still above the water.

Edward looked at me with eyes that were wild with desire. His hands trailed into my hair as he looked down at me and his breathing was ragged, uncontrolled. He knew what I was about to do. I closed my eyes when I finally disappeared under the water — not that I needed to but bath oil just didn't feel so good in my eyes.

Trailing kisses, I let them grow from chaste to open mouthed, coming dangerously close to the part of him where he wanted me to be. My hands trailed up the insides of his thighs and when I took him in my hands, his hips bucked involuntarily. Not wanting to tease him any longer, I took him into my mouth in one swift movement.

One hand left my head immediately, probably to smother his own cries. As I moved, his other hand stayed in my hair, gently guiding but never pushing. He was always so afraid to make me do anything I didn't like to.

He'd been pretty wound up, I noticed, as it didn't take long for him to topple over that edge and float into space for long, endless moments. When he came back down, I came back up, trailing kisses upwards until I finally took his chin between my teeth. I lay myself over his chest and he wound his arms around me, looking down into my eyes and chuckling.

"Hot damn," he breathed.

"Hot damn," I agreed.

**~O~**

Edward and I couldn't help the goofy grins we kept shooting at each other when we came downstairs to gather together before we left for school.

"Addicts," Emmett muttered, but I saw the gleam in his eye.

"Ten years, Emmett," I quipped back. "We've a little ways to go."

He just snorted and headed out to the garage to get his car out. Rosalie trailed after him, looking absolutely stunning in tight white jeans and high heels.

As Emmett and Rose went out the door, Esme and Carlisle came in.

"Good morning," they greeted us, and I smiled in return.

"It's good that I see you here, Bella, Edward. I have been wanting to talk to you about certain developments, regarding your bonding?"

"We can talk about it tonight," Edward agreed. "You heard that we bonded in the middle of a full classroom?"

I looked at Edward and realized he was speaking out loud, putting Carlisle's thoughts into words for my benefit.

"I did. But I'm afraid we can't talk about it tonight. I am organizing a dinner for the board of directors of the hospital and their partners."

"_Shit, Carlisle!"_ Rosalie's anger was obvious, considering the loudness of her scream from the garage.

Jacob, who had just stepped into the room, covered his ears with his hands. "I _knew_ she had a gift," he muttered. "She can scream innocent, unsuspecting victims into deafness."

"Only dogs, Jacob," came Rosalie's sneering answer. "Only dogs."

Would they ever get tired of that battle?

"Dinner, you say?" Edward continued the conversation as if nothing happened.

"Dinner," Carlisle repeated, and there was a sparkle in his eye.

"Oh, but you won't want your teenage children present at that dinner, now would you?" Alice chimed as she came walking into the room as well. Jasper followed behind.

I couldn't help my chuckle when I saw him and he raised an innocent eyebrow at me.

"You have just-fucked hair," I snickered, stating the blatantly obvious.

"So does he," Alice nodded at Edward.

"And she," Jasper nodded in turn to Esme, who did look a little flustered indeed. We all laughed at that.

"Anyway," Carlisle tried again, "there are about ten people coming over tonight. Our teenage children won't need to be present indeed, so we'll just send you out for pizza and a movie."

"Golly," Jasper muttered in his Southern drawl, and we chuckled again.

"Oh, Bella?" Esme asked, "I will need your help tonight. Will you come home directly after school?"

"Why?" I asked, on guard immediately.

"I need you to help me cook."

"Oh please Esme no," I begged. I knew that I had loved cooking as a human, but in my vampiric state I found food completely repulsive.

"Bella, don't make a fuss out of this. You are the only one who knows how to cook and I need your help to fix a dinner for twelve people."

"But human food is so…" I shuddered violently, not being able to put my disgust into words. Besides, Esme was a wonder mama, surely she could handle to cook a big meal?

"Help her out, Bella," Carlisle warned. "Or should I ground you for the amount of classes you skipped over the last days?" He winked, but I wasn't sure he was entirely joking. It would be an absurd situation indeed, me being grounded. Like he could keep me inside.

"You all, by the way," Carlisle continued, looking sternly at Edward, Alice and Jasper. We all looked contrite under his gaze, which was now almost stern, with still a hint of amusement in his eyes. "I would appreciate it if you would at least try to keep up the appearances a little."

"We will, Carlisle," Edward said. "We've started off worse than this, though."

"You have," Carlisle conceded. "Now, I believe it's time for you to go to school. Off you go, children, time to learn fascinating new things." His sarcasm was so out of character that it was funny.

I asked for Renesmee to hurry and get downstairs in a soft voice when Esme caught my gaze.

"Please help me out, Bella."

I looked at Esme and saw the pleading in her eyes. "Fine," I sighed, but it came out as a very vicious, very vampire-like growl.

"Oooh, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Emmett asked as he came back into the room.

His words were meant as a joke, but they ripped through my heart. Of course I would never kiss my _mother_ with this mouth. I'd probably drain her in the process. I hadn't seen Renée ever since my transformation and I would probably never see her again. Emmett's words reminded me painfully of how much I missed her and how it hurt me that I could never give her a hug, or a kiss again. I couldn't control the sadness that washed over me. Suddenly, I was very angry at everything.

"Obviously not," I growled at Emmett, who raised his eyebrows in surprise at my lashing out. Then I turned and sprinted off into the woods.

A stealthy sound behind me told me that Edward was following me. Not wanting to meet his eyes and crumble and cry, I lowered my shield. _Don't,_ I told him as nicely as I could. _I'll see you in school. I need to be alone for a bit._

The footsteps behind me slowed down, then came to a halt and turned away. Edward, my rock, my everything. I loved him even more, possibly, for accepting my wishes right now. A dry sob escaped my throat, but I kept running until I reached our meadow.

I just needed some time to think, and to come to terms again with the fact that I would probably never see my biological parents again. I missed them terribly, the feeling multiplied a thousand times by my vampire nature.

And sometimes I just had to accept these thoughts, work through them, man myself up and get on with life again.

Sitting in our new meadow, I slowly came to terms with myself again. I had these episodes sometimes and my family knew and supported me in this as best as they could. Having no ties to humans whatsoever anymore, they did not have these problems, but they understood me and learned to leave me alone when I needed time to think.

Living in a house full of vampires wasn't a problem, but once every while I just really needed to be alone. Even Edward respected this, knowing this was a trait I had brought with me from my human life. And Edward, above all, knew how overwhelming the need to be by yourself for a while could feel.

Of course, being a vampire and trying to find some calm and quiet in the forest, meant I was utterly alone indeed. Wildlife scurried away as soon as we came out and even the birds in my vicinity stopped singing. That was one of the things I did miss from my human life — hearing birds sing their song very near to me. My ears were good enough to hear them up to a couple of miles away, but never again would I hear them close to me.

But that was a small price to pay considering what I got in return. Missing my parents however was something I'd gladly have skipped if I could. But, I knew the deal when I made my choice. Sometimes I just needed some time to accept the consequences again.

I collected myself and got to the school sometime during the end of third period. I wandered aimlessly through the empty halls until I smelled Carlisle's unmistakable scent somewhere ahead of me. He was probably here to talk to the principle about our frequent absence from classes. Alice had seen that the school was going to contact him about it.

And indeed, I tracked him down just as he came out of the principal's office.

He greeted me with a compassionate look, a gentle smile showing in his eyes. I looked back at him, suddenly shy with the situation. Storming out of rooms was not something I was in the habit of doing, however much they understood, plus he was here to save our asses from getting suspended or even expelled, and here I was, having skipped yet again.

Mercifully, he mentioned neither. He walked towards me and put his hand on my shoulder. "You okay?"

Just then, the bell rang. We kept standing in the hallway, having our moment. His light touch on my shoulder was such a comfort to me, as he tried to be the father I would have for the rest of my existence, given that I could not hold on to my biological one.

I nodded as students started to appear in the hallway. I could hear excited whispers of girls from every direction, wondering who that handsome man was that was looking at me.

"You'll manage," Carlisle said, ignoring the gushes and swoons around him. "You've always been the strongest of us all."

I chuckled shyly at that, looking away. "I don't know about that."

"I do," he said, and without warning, pulled me in for a friendly, fatherly hug. "Now, don't you have a class to go to?"

"I might—" I started, but stopped talking when I heard it, even over the sound of the retreating students. The soft, soothing sounds of a piano drifted through the hallway and found their way to my ears easily.

Edward was playing my lullaby.

I looked at Carlisle, surprised.

He just smiled at me again. "Go to him. He needs you, too."

**~O~**

I followed the sounds of my lullaby and found Edward in our music classroom, playing at the old baby grand that was in the front middle of the room. He didn't look up when I found him, although I knew he had registered my presence. He kept playing as I walked towards him, moved to tears I couldn't shed for a song that encompassed everything I felt at that moment.

Without even hesitating in his play, he leaned back a little when I approached him, signaling for me that I should sit on his lap. Instead of curling up on his lap however, I straddled him, wrapping my legs around his hips and my arms around his shoulders, signaling that I did not only want him to hold me, but that I wanted to hold on to _him_, too. We needed each other, it was not a one way road.

We buried our faces in each other's necks, breathing in the other's scent as the soothing sounds of my lullaby kept on coming from the piano.

I would never ever tire of that song.

When the lullaby was nearing its end, I pulled back to look into Edward's eyes. We still didn't speak, our gaze communicating everything. He pressed his forehead to mine and sighed as the last note drifted away and a silence descended in the room.

His hands left the keys and found their place on my back, holding me tight against him. "You okay?" he asked, much in the same way as Carlisle had done minutes before.

"Yeah," I breathed, feeling my body relax and folding into his embrace.

"I'm still afraid you'll go running an screaming," he finally admitted. His voice was so soft it was merely a breath of a whisper.

I pulled back, searching his eyes. "I won't," I promised. "If I ever go running, it will be with you."

He chuckled softly at that, his sweet breath washing over my face and leaving me incoherent for a moment.

"I guess I'm just still overwhelmed at times."

"Do you regret it?" The worry was evident in his voice and eyes.

"No, of course not," I hastened to reassure him. "But maybe it's different for me than it has been for you," I started, trying to find the words. "You didn't really have a choice when you changed, Carlisle gave you a new life. You would never have known how your life had gone when had you stayed human, because your human life was already ending before Carlisle decided to change you."

Edward looked intently at me, honey colored eyes blazing. "Go on."

"It was the same for Rosalie, Emmett, and Esme. Alice's history of course is unknown and Jasper was lured into a trap. But I _knew_ what I was getting myself into. You coming into my life created this crossroads and the turn I took, turned me to you."

The metaphor was confusing, but it told him everything I needed to say. "But, even though went down a different road — the right road — it doesn't stop me from being able to see what that other road would have looked like. And Charlie and Renée live along that other road," I trailed off, not wanting to have to explain this further.

Edward tightened his grip around me, keeping quiet.

"I don't regret choosing to be with you. I will never regret it. But sometimes I just miss my parents. That's not so weird, isn't it?"

"It isn't," my husband replied, but his voice sounded strangled. "I wish I wouldn't have to put you through this grief, Bella."

"How can that be your fault?"

"My being here, with you, has put you into this position."

"Stop blaming yourself for everything, Edward, please. I don't have the energy to fight that right now."

He chuckled without humor, his body reverberating against mine, and kept on holding me tight. We sat still for several minutes until the distinct smell of a human and the sound of a throat being cleared interrupted us.

I looked up and saw Mrs. Blom, our music teacher. I pulled back from Edward immediately, wanting to get off his lap, but Edward held on to me, preventing me to get up.

"Sorry," I started, but the teacher interrupted me.

"You are obviously having a moment. I should be sorry for interrupting you. I just need to put these papers away and then I'll be gone."

I was stunned, to put it mildly, that she was okay with us being intertwined on the piano bench, in a school where public displays of affection where fiercely discouraged.

When she looked up from the cabinet and saw I was looking at her, she smiled. "I don't mind that you are here. Sometimes we all just need a cuddle." She thought for a moment, then smiled again. "I thought you were a couple the moment I saw how Edward held the door open for you last Tuesday. It's a very special situation, considering you grew up together. Are your parents okay with it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"They are," Edward answered. "As long as we are happy, they are happy for us."

"That's good for you," Mrs. Blom said. "You look in love," she added with a sparkle of humor in her eye, and we chuckled with her. If only she knew.

"We are," I admitted, thoughtlessly winding my hand through Edward's hair at the back of his neck. A soft purr, too low for humans to hear, started immediately. He made my insides melt with that sound.

"This school has a non-pda-policy," Mrs. Blom started.

"Yes, we're sorry," I interrupted her, once more starting to get off Edward's lap.

"Don't be," she said. "I was trying to tell you that I hate it that people aren't even allowed to hold each other's hand in this school. By all means, if you ever need a quiet moment, please know that you are welcome to use this room if it's empty."

I raised my eyebrows in wonder but smiled in thanks nevertheless. Mrs. Blom nodded once and left the room, leaving us by ourselves again.

I looked back at Edward, who had a knowing look in his eyes. "You knew," I said, the corner of my mouth lifting into a half-smile.

"I did," he answered, kissing the tip of my nose. "Are you better?"

"I am. Thanks."

He thought for a moment, as if he was going to say something, then reconsidered. "We should go to Study Hall. Ness is calling out to me in her thoughts every other second to get our attention."

I laughed at that, a liberating feeling. "Then let's not keep out daughter waiting."

Standing up while still holding me in his arms, he walked towards the door and he kissed me slowly, deeply, before he put me down.

He looked into my eyes for a long time while he held me tight. Then he lifted my left hand and pressed a kiss on my wedding ring. "Forever," he sighed contentedly, his eyes dreamy.

"Forever," I agreed. I couldn't wait.

* * *

_So, what did you think? Are you still with me? Please, press review :)_

_I realize Emmett did not send the promised paper plane in this chapter. Sorry, I'll ask him kindly to do it the next!  
_


	15. Paper Planes

**A/N I don't own Twilight. I own this plot.**

_Hello everybody. Thank you again for the response to my last chapter :) I have moved heaven and earth to get this chapter out within the two weeks I set myself. From now on, the words should come easier._

_Thank you Sherryola, Sherry, for everything, for listening to my rants, for your faith in me. For your optimism. For being my friend. I hope you get what you wish for right now. You deserve it so.  
_

_I hope you'll all like the developments in this chapter. With paper planes (finally!) to finish it off!  
_

* * *

We found the rest of our family in the library, and six pairs of eyes lit up as we approached the table. Rosalie was sitting behind a pc again, and she turned back to the screen as we took a seat at the table. She appeared uninterested, but I knew her better than this by now. She was concerned about my well-being, just as much as the rest of my family. She just didn't really show it.

Renesmee briefly touched my leg as I sat down and I smiled warmly at my daughter, letting her know I was okay.

"Do you miss grandpa?" she asked softly.

"And grandma," I agreed. "I haven't seen Renée since." I didn't need to finish that sentence. Ness would know what I was referring to.

"You okay now?" Jasper asked as Edward sat down at my other side.

"You tell me," I joked, and with that I let the others know that all was well. I was getting nervous by all their worried gazes. "I'm good, guys. Seriously."

Emmett waited patiently until I was looking at him. His eyes were burning with sincerity when he spoke. "I am sorry Bella. I wasn't thinking."

"I don't blame you, Emmett. It was bothering me already and you were just your normal goofy self."

He snickered at that, relieved that I didn't hold a grudge against him. I couldn't blame Emmett for trying to lighten the atmosphere with a joke, even if that joke turned out bad.

"I know right? And I mean, how hard can it be?" The unmistakable nagging voice reached our ears even before the person who it belonged to reached the library and we groaned collectively.

"I don't know, Dana. I really don't."

Poor Jodi.

Pulling out my History book, I indicated to Jasper that I wanted to go over our homework together. Pointedly ignoring Dana, who was now approaching our table, Alice, Jasper and Edward switched seats so Edward was in between Jasper and Alice, and Jasper was sitting beside me.

We didn't even have to plan this strategy, we just all worked together to keep Dana as far away from Edward as possible. The chance that she would want to join our table again was —

"Hi! Can we sit here?"

— highly probable.

Normally, I would have told my daughter off for glaring, but right now I couldn't care less that she was shooting daggers at the girl that was upsetting her parents time and again.

"It's a free country," Emmett said in a voice so low it was practically a growl.

We all made a point of not looking up as Dana elaborately pulled back a chair and sat down with a grin on her face. Jodi looked apprehensive before she sat down next to Dana, clearly she _was_ picking up our violent vibe.

Renesmee leaned forward a little and caught Jodi's attention. "Don't worry, sweetie," she whispered softly, "it's not you we dislike."

Oh! Did my daughter really just say that?

But what amazed me even more was that Dana. _Didn't. _Hear it.

Unbelievable. The girl brought ignorance to a whole new level.

Jacob was less subtle than Ness and turned to Dana instead. "Where are the rest of you pack?"

"Oh, they had to finish a project. We take different classes." She turned to Alice. "I saw you at the audition yesterday. Do you think you are in?"

"Don't know," Alice shrugged as we suppressed our snickers. Of course Alice knew. And we all knew Ness was dying with curiosity, but she wasn't asking Alice how it would all turn out. I thought this was very strong of her indeed.

"I think I will be in," Dana huffed confidently. "Hey, we should practice together!"

"Absolutely not," Jasper grumbled lowly. It was too low for humans to hear, but Dana did notice that he said _something_ and she looked at him for a moment with a cocked eyebrow before she turned to Edward.

"I saw you were at the audition too."

Edward didn't even bother to look up at her when he answered, "For Ness and Alice, yes."

"Oh, really?" Dana laughed. "Only for them?"

Edward looked up, his face hard. "Only for them."

Dana looked at him for a moment, then shrugged and focused on her homework.

Oh, could it _really_ be that easy?

I didn't have time to be amazed about this for too long, because two things then happened at the same time.

To my left, Rosalie actually showed emotion. "Look at this weather forecast!" she said excitedly, turning towards us and leaning to the side so she could show us the image on the screen.

Then her focus drifted to my right and when I followed her gaze, I saw the unmistakable signs of Alice having a vision and Edward seeing what she saw in her mind. It took maybe two seconds, and they both grinned widely and pumped their fists.

"Care to share?" Emmett asked, picking up the happy vibe quickly.

I looked back at the screen Rose was showing us. Sun. Saturday would be cloudy, but Sunday _and_ Monday would be sunny.

Yes. Yes. _Yes._

"Oh, we can go hiking!" Renesmee exclaimed in a whisper. Hunting, more like.

I looked at Edward, thrilled at the possibilities the sunny Monday would give us. But he was still looking at Alice, grinning like a true schoolboy.

Dana and Jodi were looking at us, curiosity clear on their faces. I was guessing that this exchange between Edward and Alice had not been so subtle in terms of behaving human.

"Family day out coming up," Edward announced, a pleased smile plastering itself on his face.

I smiled as well. It had been ages since we had been out all ten together.

"Nice," Jacob agreed from his corner.

"Yes," Alice stated matter-of-factly. "Hey, Emmett, do you want a Ducati or a Yamaha?" she asked as she ripped a piece of paper out of her notebook, prepared to make a list.

Emmett understood her immediately and thought for a moment. "Can I have a Suzuki? They're sweet."

"But slow, Em," Rosalie said, coming to sit with us finally. "I won't have time to tinker it before the weekend."

"Yamaha then," Emmett decided. "A red one."

Alice nodded as she scribbled it down. This, of course, was just for the sake of appearance. It was ridiculous, regarding the things we were discussing. Alice would never need to make a list to remember what we wanted. It was even more ridiculous if you considered that Alice _knew_ what type of bike everyone wanted. I guess she just wanted to push Dana a little.

It was going to cost a tremendous amount of money to get these bikes in by tomorrow, I realized.

Rosalie, in the meantime, had produced a fashion magazine and started flipping through it, a bored look fixed on her face.

Underneath this façade, I knew, she was buzzing with excitement.

"What are they talking about?" Dana asked Jodi in a whisper.

"Bikes," Emmett said without looking at her. "We're going hiking this weekend, and we'll take bikes, I gather."

"You gathered right," Edward said, smiling.

"Excellent," Emmett beamed, rubbing his hands.

"Rose?" Alice asked, businesslike.

"A BMW. You'll know which one." Rosalie didn't even look up from her magazine.

Alice nodded and scribbled something down. I hoped Dana and Jodi did not notice that Rosalie had spoken in future tense.

"And let's see, what do I want," she asked out loud, chewing her pen. "A Ducati, I guess. Okay, I'll go and order them. Sure hope they'll arrive in time. I'll call Carlisle back too. He needs to talk to the principal to get us Monday off." She got up, pulling her phone out of her pocket and flipping it open before she was out of the library.

"You're going to rent those bikes for the weekend?" Dana asked.

"No, sweetie," Rosalie said in her most patronizing way, "we're going to _buy_ them."

I remembered how scared I had been of Rosalie when she had looked and spoken to me in that way. But Dana _wasn't impressed._ What was wrong with this girl?

"Incredibly beautiful _and_ filthy rich," Dana muttered, sitting back. "I could have known that, of course." Did she really think we couldn't hear her?

"What about me?" Renesmee asked quietly, ignoring Dana.

"You'll take turns driving with us, sweetie," Rosalie said, using the endearment in a completely different context as she had done with Dana just before. It was striking.

Rosalie agreed with Edward and I that Renesmee was too young still to be doing such dangerous things as riding a motorcycle. The irony of this wasn't lost on me.

"I'll take you," Jacob whispered softly. Renesmee blushed at his promise. I had to work very hard to not press my hand against my heart in a very Esme-like way at their little exchange.

I heard Edward chuckle softly. "What?" I murmured, too low for Dana and Jodi to hear.

"Dana's thoughts are tumbling now, she doesn't know what to make of this."

"Too bad," I shrugged. "She wanted to sit with us, she'll bear the consequences."

"I'll have to call Seth though," Jacob frowned. "You arranged for a girl-free weekend, remember?"

"We can leave on Sunday," I said. "Edward and Ness are going out together Saturday too. But you don't have to come with us this weekend if you don't want to."

"Ness wants to come," he stated simply. "But I agreed to meet with Seth on Sunday."

"Can't Seth come with us?" Edward asked. "I haven't seen him in ages."

"He's taller than you now, did you know hat?" Jacob snorted. "I think he's close to Emmett's size now."

"Yes, I call for a serious wrestling match," Emmett piped up, licking his lips at the prospect.

Jacob laughed. "Just ask him before you tackle him, okay?"

"Of course not," Emmett answered. "Where's the fun in that?"

"Wonder if you could win if he's forewarned," Jasper said quietly, a gleam in his eyes. "What say you, Edward?"

"Hard to tell. I haven't seen Seth in a while. But if he equals Emmett now, I'd say he'd have a chance at winning even without forewarning."

"I sense a bet coming up," Jasper said.

"I don't think Seth will come hiking with us," Jacob interrupted.

"Maybe he can come over next weekend?" I asked Jacob before the boys could really start gambling again. "We'd pay for his flight, of course."

"I don't think he'd need to…" Jake started, but I cocked my eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, sure. I'll call him tonight."

That being settled, I tried to concentrate on my History homework again. Before long, Alice came bouncing back into the library.

"All set," she announced, a gleam in her eyes. "Where shall we go?"

"You tell us," Rosalie answered without looking op from her magazine. She wasn't fooling me, nor any of our family. She was purring. Very softly, but nevertheless, it was a definite purr. I was pretty sure Emmett's hand was on her leg under the table. At least, I hoped it was still on her leg, and not somewhere … cozier.

Then again, what did I care?

"Canada," Alice said confidently, but so lowly only we could hear. "We'll go to the national park," she said at a normal hushed tone.

"But that's, like, far away!" Dana said, and I noticed I was not the only one trying to suppress my snickers.

Jodi looked up at us and when I saw Edward grinning his crooked smile from the corner of my eye I knew immediately that she _did_ know how far away the park actually was.

"We'll leave very early," Alice said sweetly.

_And don't stop except for gas. And ride at approximately three times the maximum speed. Then we should be there in a matter of hours._

"Short time to actually hike then," Jodi said softly. "But wait, does that mean you won't be at school on Monday?"

"We won't," Emmet said, grinning widely. "We have horrible parents, they always yank us away when the weather is fair to go out and camp."

"Carlisle is on his way here as we speak," Alice beamed.

"And he'll have a hard time bailing us out, I guess," Jasper muttered.

"I saw him this morning when I came in," I answered him in a normal voice. "He was okay, I think."

"After last night, he should be!" Emmett grinned.

"Oh, Emmet," I sighed. I tried to sound stern, but I could not suppress my chuckle so it came out as a sigh.

"That's what she said," he said wickedly, and we all laughed at that, Jodi and Dana included.

"Oh, shut it," I grinned.

"That's… not what she said," Emmett deflated, and we laughed yet again.

"Your parents take you to go hiking on school days?" Jodi's voice was incredulous.

"They do. Fresh air, you know," Ness said. I could feel the excitement emanating from her. She was looking forward to an extended hunting weekend as well.

"Right," Jodi replied, but I could tell she was confused. I was not going to clarify it to her, however. Although I did like the girl, it was better if humans knew as little as possible about us.

"So, what movie will we go watch tonight?" Jasper asked, just before Alice elbowed him in his ribs. Hard.

"Ow," he frowned, rubbing his side. "What was that f—"

"Movie?" Dana piped up.

Shit.

"We're undecided," Alice probably lied. "We might go to play pool after all."

"Jake will kick your asses at pool," Ness said proudly.

"No he won't," Rosalie muttered. "Horses kick, not dogs. They just drool," she added, too soft for human ears.

"Rosalie," I hissed, "stop it."

She looked up at me, all wide-eyed innocent beauty.

"Oh, stop it," I grinned. I was rewarded with a smirk before she focused on her magazine again.

"What movie will you go see?" Jodi asked.

"Don't know yet. Why, you want to come?" Alice asked.

"No, I'm not allowed to go out on school nights," Jodi smiled apologetically.

"I am," Dana piped up. "What movie will you watch?"

"We don't know yet," Alice repeated. "We'll decide on the road tonight, probably."

"You'll go to the Megascope?"

"Obviously," Emmett shrugged.

"_If_ we decide to go see a movie," Jasper added.

"What, you are _all_ going?"

"Yes," Ness said, eyebrows raised in surprise at Dana's question.

Dana looked at all of us, then frowned and bent her head over her work.

_Haha_.

We spent the remainder of the hour relatively quietly, and I found myself reveling in the fact that Dana was uncharacteristically quiet for once.

"Bella," Emmett stage-whispered just before the bell rang.

"What," I answered, without looking up.

"Truth or dare?"

Now I did look up. "Still, Emmett? Two days not enough?"

He shook his head like an eager kid. "Never."

"I have a dare for you, dear brother," I smiled wickedly. "Send a paper plane."

"Oh, done," he replied and took out his phone.

"No. A _real_ one."

The sparkle in his eyes multiplied tenfold. "Where?"

"Somewhere crowded. Lunchroom?"

"Excellent," he grinned, rubbing his hands as the bell rang.

"What on earth is a paper plane?" Jodi asked to no one in particular.

"It's a game," Alice explained sweetly. "Try and catch it, and you'll know what it's about."

"I'd rather not," Rosalie muttered, but the buzz of the students was now too loud for Jodi to hear her.

We all got up and walked towards the lunchroom. Jasper of course felt Emmett's excitement and he was just passing all the energy through, thus making us all giddy and giggly. When I looked at him over my shoulder he just raised an eyebrow at me.

When we reached the lunchroom, Emmett took out his carefully folded paper plane, blew a kiss on it for good measure, and launched it into the lunchroom.

"Now we wait," he said wickedly to Jodi, who still was looking utterly confused. Dana had long since lost her interest and was obviously tagging along to be close to Edward, who didn't even look at here.

Still, I had the nagging feeling she was biding her time and when I asked Edward this with a lowered shield, he nodded slowly, almost imperceptibly.

Shit.

The paper plane, in the meantime, was floating towards the center of the lunchroom and slowly found its way towards the ground.

Now to hope it would be found by a girl, and not a boy. Then again, either way could be fun.

We were lucky, as the plane floated towards two walking girls and landed on the tray one of them was holding. Surprised but curious when the girl noted something was written on the paper, she took it to the table where her friends were already seated.

And then the girl unfolded the plane and started reading. I could see from where I was standing what Emmett had written. It was relatively chaste, at least to his standards. The girl who was reading didn't agree, as her mouth popped open and she went more and more red as she read along.

Her friend, who was reading over her shoulder, let out a squeal and started a giggling fit, and then the paper plane was passed along the table until every girl was gasping, scandalized, giggling and flushing.

"Okay, go fetch," I ordered, and Emmett walked towards the table, all cocky confidence. He popped his collar and looked over his shoulder to us, licking his lips and winking at Rosalie before he turned back to the table. Then he leaned over, reached out his hand and said, all smiles, dimples and vampire charm, "excuse me, I believe this belongs to me. Thank you for keeping it safe."

After the initial reactions which mainly consisted of popped open mouths and blank stares, the girls swooned and giggled and squealed and Rose, Alice and I snickered.

"Every time," Rosalie smiled, shaking her head.

Behind us, Dana's interest was piqued although I could tell she was trying to hide it. Jodi looked confused but was burning to know what was written on the paper that had made those girls react like they did.

Emmett came walking back to us, smoothing the paper out across his chest and smirking. "Mission succeeded, I should think," he grinned.

We chuckled with him, and I didn't need to have Edward's mind reading gift to know that a stream of gossip was already building. I didn't need to have Jasper's gift either to feel Jodi's burning curiosity behind me. Emmett laughed, loudly, and gave Jodi the paper.

She looked at Emmett first before she tore her eyes away from him and looked down at the paper. As we started to move towards the salad bar to get some food, Jodi read.

Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open as she scanned the paper. Her flush, when it came, was endearing. Finally, Dana snatched the paper out of her hands and read too.

She was a bit less tactful in her response, but it wasn't less funny.

"Holy, holy fuck!"

Behind me, Ness snickered. "What on earth did he put on there?"

"Oh, the usual," Emmett said, sounding bored.

"I wasn't even impressed," Rosalie shrugged. "Technically, honey, you failed the dare."

"Technically, honey, I think they would have called the police if I wrote down what _exactly_ I plan to do to you tonight," he crooned in her ear.

Rosalie lost her composure for once and looked positively flustered at that, and Alice pressed her hand to her heart and batted her eyes in a mocking gush.

Jasper of course picked up the vibe and passed it through, thus making every student in the line suddenly a bit shifty and on edge.

Alice swatted his arm playfully, but Ness frowned and moved away from us, dragging Jacob along with her who looked none too willingly to go.

"Seriously," I heard her mutter under her breath as she went to find us a table for lunch.

Hmm, I guess she really wasn't ready for these things.

Over the noise of the students I could hear Dana's footsteps approaching. Jodi stayed behind, obviously looking everywhere except at us and probably not knowing how to ever face us again.

"I believe this belongs to you then," she said, looking boldly up at Emmett.

"Thank you lots," Emmett answered flatly. If Dana was expecting a treat of his charm, she was badly mistaken. Emmett took the paper from Dana and turned away from her to pay for his food.

Dana stood with us still, but she didn't speak up for once and we were not going to engage her in conversation either. It was tense, and awkward. Finally, her pack called for her and she left us alone. Collectively, we breathed a sigh of relief.

**~O~**

In homeroom, I noticed Edward was uncharacteristically quiet. He kept exchanging looks with Alice but when I asked them about it, they both shrugged and continued their silent conversation.

"I think Dana is starting to fulfill too big a part in our lives," I sighed.

No reaction.

"Oh hell," I pouted. "Jasper, we were mated with the wrong Cullen. They would have been an excellent match."

"So what do you suggest," Jasper said with a gleam in his eye, "that we try to hit it off sometime?"

"Oh, we might," I played along. "I would love to benefit first hand from your gift sometime."

"It can get intense," Jasper drawled, stretching as if he didn't really care. "Are you sure you can handle me?"

"I think you should be worried whether you can handle me," I countered.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Edward chuckled, having finally broken out of his head to head with Alice.

"Oh, just considering options," I shrugged, feigning disinterest. "God forbid life gets boring."

My siblings all laughed at this, and I chuckled along.

"So, care to share your intimate conversation?"

"Nah, just Dana," Alice grumbled as she leaned into Jasper for comfort and support. "Wicked girl," she hissed under her breath, and my stomach clenched in anticipation and dread. Seeing Alice upset meant something.

"Why don't we just move?" I offered. "I mean, I know we've been here for mere weeks but is it worth this angst?"

"We shouldn't move because of a human girl," Edward murmured. "It's too much of a fuss."

Jasper cocked an eyebrow when Edward spoke and pointedly cleared his throat.

"You know this is different," Edward replied. "Dana is no singer to any of us."

"Someone with such a vile mind could never be," I grumbled.

"You'd be surprised," Alice piped up. "Anyway, we need to decide what we will do tonight."

"Oh, funny," I said without humor, but letting her change the subject. "Just tell us where we'll go."

"Don't know yet," Alice shrugged, smiling. "I guess we'll really decide on the road tonight. Or we'll do both — movie and pool."

"Keep Rose away from Jake," Edward warned. "She's going to explode if we don't watch out."

"Yes, what's up with her?" I asked. "She's always been bitchy but it seems to be worse?"

"She's like a second mom," Alice smiled at me. "She's probably even more worried about her than you are. Not that you are a bad mother or anything," she added hurriedly.

I narrowed my eyes at her playfully for a moment, then shrugged and chuckled.

"And she's thinking things I happen to agree on," Edward said so seriously I wasn't going to jest about the fact that he actually _agreed_ with Rosalie.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Well, as per imprinting rules, Jake will only ever be what Ness needs," he started.

"I know that, Edward. That's why they are still relatively chaste."

"Yes, but what if Jake finds out that he can convince Ness she needs certain things from him?"

I took a moment to absorb this information. "Oh shit," I breathed finally. "Is Jake already thinking this?"

Edward shook his head, then looked at us all. "No, but he's known for certain manipulating skills. Let's not give him the idea," he said sincerely, and we nodded.

"I'll talk to Emmett," Jasper offered. "He needs to know, too."

Edward and I smiled in thanks and Alice winked reassuringly at me.

All our phones then buzzed in our pockets simultaneously. "Emmett," I sighed, before I even picked it out.

_Edward, truth or dare? Em._

"Take the dare," Alice said suddenly, smiling so widely she looked dangerous. "Oh, please take the dare."

Eyeing the pixie sister warily, Edward texted Emmett back he would indeed like a dare.

_Excellent! We'll do it after school._

"The fuck?" I mumbled, looking from a grinning Alice to a frustrated Edward who obviously could not get into Alice's head.

"You'll see," Alice purred. "It'll be fun for you too, Bella. You can count on it."

Did I ever say you should never bet against Alice? Seeing her confident look, I decided I wasn't going to counter her this time either.

To distract myself, I got up and smoothes my clothes a bit. "I'm going to see if _Patrick_ will give me my phone back," I explained. "I don't want to stay with him in this room after class again."

My siblings nodded, and Edward produced a deck of cards and started to deal.

"I want in next game," I warned, and walked forward to _Patrick's_ desk. I hated that man. How I could ever have thought I would come to like him was completely beyond me now. Had that only be days ago?

He smiled as I approached him and I had to tell myself to not be too cold towards him and expose what we truly were.

"Bella," he greeted me.

"Sir," I replied flatly, refusing to use his given name. "I was wondering if I could get my phone back?"

"Certainly," he answered and he picked the cell out of his bag. I saw immediately he had tried to access the phone. His fingerprints were all over it. Gah.

I took the phone from him, carefully avoiding any skin contact as I did so. I tried not to look disgusted and put the phone in the back pocket of my jeans.

"What," Mr. O'Neil tried to tease, "won't you turn it on immediately?"

Picking out my new phone of my other back pocket, I casually checked if I had any new messages, just to push the teacher a little. I looked up at him as if I was surprised at his question.

"No sir," I said sweetly. "I don't think I need to." I walked back to my table, very glad that for once I finally wasn't subjected to a cross-examination.

I was even more glad to find that the rest of the homeroom hour was flowing quietly and easily, as we played some ridiculous card games with rules no human would ever have a hope of understanding.

Then I got a text from Edward, who was looking studiously ahead as I started to read.

_I want to get you alone._

Hmm, okay. Just as I wanted to tell him back that could be arranged, I got another text.

_I want to undress you. Slowly. _

This was a paper plane. My stomach clenched in anticipation. Usually, when we sent our mates paper planes, we'd put them in one message. Why Edward was texting the lines separately I didn't know, as was it a mystery to me why he was texting them at all when he was sitting next to me and — as it appeared — ignoring me. But I knew better. He was buzzing with electricity as well. It certainly added to the fun, I realized.

Biting my lip, I tried to wait patiently for the other five lines to be delivered. Behind me, Jasper groaned.

"By God, you two are horrible creatures. It wasn't nearly as bad when you just got married," he said softly and for a moment I wondered if it was indeed too soft for humans to hear.

My phone buzzed.

_I want to kiss every inch of your beautiful body_.

Oh, _yes_.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Jasper groaned, rubbing his face. "How am I supposed to keep this all in?"

Edward and I both were shaking with suppressed laughter, the energy palpable between us. Alice leaned over to whisper something in Jasper's ear, but she did it so softly I couldn't hear it. The look in her eyes and the smile that appeared on his face however let me know that she had probably offered him an option to let it all out again.

Under the table, Edward was texting me again, fingers flying over the screen.

_I want to worship you._

Romantic guy. I grinned like a Cheshire cat and sat back, looking around the classroom full with talking students. Mr. O'Neil was watching us closely, but I didn't care.

Another text.

_I want to make your body sing. And we both know I can._

The texts were romantic, I'll admit, but what was with the sudden chastity? God knows his vocabulary could be a lot more colorful when he _did_ have me alone.

Nevertheless, his words evoked a pleasant warm fuzzy feeling and I shifted a bit in my seat, eager to be closer to him. His slender hand snaked its way towards my leg and he started caressing lazy circles. His touches were not meant to turn me on, but it was a little too late for that by now.

We didn't say a word the entire time, which only increased the tension. Alice was giggling almost endlessly behind us and when the bell rang and we walked to our last class of the day, Music.

Well, at least Mrs. Blom was on our side.

When we sat down for the lesson, I was having a hard time to concentrate when Edward shielded his phone with his body and started to text me again. Two messages to go.

_I want to make you climax so hard you'll forget your own name._

_Now_ we were starting to get somewhere. I smiled, jotting down some notes. When I looked up at Mrs. Blom to listen to what else she had to say, she winked at us.

Yes, I think I was starting to like her a bit more.

When the bell rang, effectively releasing us for the rest of the day - I suddenly realized we were away until Tuesday.

Oh, excellent. Tomorrow would be our day off and Sunday and Monday we would be hunting somewhere — at least we would be staying out of the public eye. I wasn't looking forward to Saturday, because then I would miss the two most important beings in my world, but I tried to console myself with the thought I would have the rest of forever with them.

The classroom was empty now. As I started to get up from my seat to leave this hell hole of a school, Edward grabbed my arm to keep me seated. He leaned in very close to my ear and I could feel his breath tickle my skin as he whispered lowly, finishing the paper plane, "I am going to make you see God."

I shuddered, not really because of his words, but because of how deliciously close he was to me. He traced the shell of my ear with the tip of his tongue, then dipped his head a little and nibbled on my lobe. I groaned softly, closing my eyes as the sensations washed over me.

"You didn't obey the rules," I said, struggling for coherence. Paper planes were supposed to begin every of the seven sentences with "I want to."

"I don't care," Edward purred, his hand snaking up to caress the nape of my neck. "Besides, it's not something I _want_ to do to you, it's something I _am_ going to do to you. There is a world of difference in that."

He pressed a final kiss on my ear and I took a few cleansing breaths to get myself in check again.

"Evil man," I whispered.

"Oh, aye, I am from hell, remember?" he smiled wickedly.

I smiled at him, his amber eyes burning into mine with the intensity of his desire. "No place I'd rather be if it means I have you."

Feeling pretty hot for cold creatures, we walked across the parking lot. The rest of our family was nowhere to be seen, possibly to give us some privacy. Emmett's dare would come later.

From afar, I could see a piece of paper perched under the windscreen wiper of the car. My mood turned sour in an instant, all promises suddenly forgotten.

"Oh God," I breathed. "Could that be Dana's interpretation of a paper plane?"

Edward just growled, low in his chest, and stalked towards his car. "She touched my car," he seethed, and I wasn't even entirely certain if he was joking or not.

He pried the paper from under his windscreen wiper and unfolded it. He needed less than a second to read it, but he kept a human pace.

I didn't know it was actually possible, but he went pale. His jaws snapped together audibly and his face was tense as he read what Dana had written. I stood close to him and read along, and I had to swallow at what I saw.

It wasn't very subtle. In fact, Dana had written down very explicitly what she wanted to do once she got Edward alone. And it involved actions that were illegal in the majority of the United States.

What was wrong with this girl? Usually, if people liked someone, would they not flirt innocently, try to get phone numbers, and start to fix a date? Dana didn't do all this. She was forward, to say the least, and she had crude ways. I was starting to believe Edward and Alice when they said she was dangerous.

Edward looked to his right, and when I followed his gaze, I saw Dana standing at the edge of the parking lot, under the cover of the building. Stuffing the paper into a tight ball, my husband made sure Dana was looking when he tossed the 'paper plane' into the nearest trashcan.

Then he turned back to me, pressed me against the Volvo and kissed me solidly, almost angrily, before he opened the passenger door and motioned for me to get into the car.

Dana looked dangerously angry, but you know what? We were, too.

I knew we were betting against Alice and sure enough, our phones both went off before Edward had started the car.

We exchanged a look and I knew we were thinking the same thing: at this very moment, we couldn't care less.

* * *

_Whoop! Angry Bella and angry Edward - I love them! Wonder what happens now they've bet against Alice. Wonder what Emmet's dare was!  
_

_It's five minutes to midnight where I am. In five minutes, my birthday will start. Yes, I will be 26 years old as of tomorrow. Please, leave me some love. Your reviews honestly make me want to write more!_


	16. Never bet against Alice

**A/N I don't own Twilight. Wish I did.**

_Thanks for the notes, reviews and patience. Thanks to Sherry, who I am not allowed to call an official beta by the rules of this site, but who is my beta nevertheless. She owns me and she knows it. Sherryola is writing her own fic on here too: Seeing Bella. Go read, it's fabulous: www fanfiction net/s/6579398/1/Seeing_Bella._

_Meet me at the end for a personal note. For now, angry Alice, a Cullen family meeting, and Emmett's dare. But first, a trip to the meadow..._

* * *

If I ever thought Edward could drive like a maniac, he had gone totally wild right now. Although I trusted his driving skills with my, well, my life, I must confess I was a bit apprehensive when he took a corner so sharply the tires were screeching underneath us.

But it didn't matter. We were both seething about what had happened. And we both knew we were in for it when we got home.

"Turn left," I said suddenly, hoping to evade Alice by making a split decision.

Edward did not look away from the road, but his jaw tightened and he took the turn, crashing into the dirt road that led up to our meadow.

"I reckon we have approximately fifteen minutes," he growled as he forced his car too fast down the road.

"I reckon we have all the time we need," I spat. "I think she _knows_ what will happen if she dares to interrupt us."

Edward grinned, looking positively dangerous with his eyes black and the tendons in his neck standing out in his anger.

Rawr. I wanted to devour him.

He slipped the car to a halt and was out in an instant, pulling my door open and pulling me into his arms before I could blink. He pressed me against the car and lined up his body flush with mine, his hands finding their way into my hair. Then his mouth was on mine, hungry, demanding.

I wanted to give him everything.

His leg pressed between mine and his hips ground against me. He was growling continuously in his chest. It wasn't the soft purr I knew so well from him. He was actually _growling_, a possessive sound that drove me wild with need.

I could tell there were things he wanted to say, wanted to ask, but apart from the growling he was eerily quiet as he put everything he wanted me to know in his kisses, which increased in intensity by the second.

Then his lips left mine and trailed towards my cheek, my temple, my ear. He traced the shell of my ear with the tip of his tongue, making me shudder. I could feel every line of his body against mine, could feel his muscles ripple underneath his clothes. He was so close to me, yet not nearly close enough.

My hands were clawing at his shoulders, begging him to crawl into me if he could. His mouth now reached my neck, his tongue leaving a wet trail until he reached my collarbone, which he bit softly.

I whimpered.

"Meadow," he breathed, and in one fluent movement pulled me onto his back and we were running.

His feet pounded on the earth underneath us and I felt how a little of his anger evaporated with the exhilaration running always brought him.

I scratched the back of his neck softly, then leaned in to first kiss and then bite it. He moaned, an almost defeated sound as he gripped my legs tighter and run faster still.

When he put me down in our meadow, his face was a mixture of pain and lust.

"What's wrong?" I asked, rubbing circles on his chest as he gripped my hips to pull me closer to him.

"She messes with me," he frowned, his jaw tight. "I don't understand why she's getting to me like this."

"She's cunning and manipulative," I whispered. "And right now she's standing in between me and my man. Again. This is exactly what she wants, Edward. Don't you see that? Look at me."

He focused and I swallowed when his amber eyes burned into mine.

"I love you," he whispered. "Only you. Only ever you."

Why he suddenly felt this need to reassure me — or himself — of this I didn't know, but I nodded, then wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his chest, inhaling the glorious scent of him. Sunshine, lilac and honey — I would never tire of it.

"I love you too, baby. Forget the girl. She's nothing but a nuisance."

"Then why—"

I stopped him by pulling back and placing a finger on his lips. "Hey," I said softly. "Come back to me."

He swallowed and looked down at me, his arms like iron around me, as if he was afraid I would run away from him. I brought my hand up and wove my fingers through his hair, and he leaned his head into my touch.

"This is exactly the same as last Monday," he chuckled absently, and I grinned with him, sharing the sense of déjà vu.

"I vividly remember having an excellent time here with you last Monday," I said, biting my lip and smirking.

My favorite crooked smile appeared on his face and this time, his smile reached his eyes. "Yes, I do recall something like that," he purred. His hands snaked upwards, one coming to rest on the small of my back and the other finding its way into my hair. He tilted my head backwards so he could reach me better, and then started to kiss me in earnest.

The possessive growl turned into a purr again as we undid each other of those annoying things called 'clothes' — both being annoyed to no ends with the fact that we'd have to do it carefully in order to keep them whole and wearable lest we had to go home naked afterwards.

The underwear had to go however, and Edward took care of it with a flick of his wrist. When he stepped forward and pressed his body flush against mine once more, my knees just gave way and he had to hold me up against him. I could feel his arousal pressing in my abdomen and I whimpered, wanting to feel him somewhere else. Somewhere more South, preferably.

With the ground being as muddy as it was, Edward lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around him in a practiced movement. He walked me to a nearby tree so I could lean against it for support. Then when he finally lowered my body over his we both cried out at the sensation of coming together.

We froze for a moment, reveling in the feeling. The sudden bond built more rapidly than we ever experienced and my body was buzzing in anticipation, a soft whimper escaping from my throat to release some of the built up tension.

I buried my head in the crook of his neck, latching on with tongue and teeth, holding on to him for dear life and squeezing every muscle I had to get closer to him, to feel more of him.

Edward tangled his hand in my hair and pulled me back, looking into my eyes deeply, his blackening gaze fierce and his face hard with determination.

"Only you," he growled, and then he set to move in earnest.

We lost all reservations and let go, releasing days of tension and confirming our love, our bond, our life.

I'm pretty certain it took more than fifteen minutes.

I'm also pretty certain that Alice wouldn't get it into her mind to interrupt us, although I had a feeling she was dying to.

When we got home, dirty and disheveled, Edward took his time to park the car into the garage. "Get ready for the pain," he murmured, eyes turning black once again, albeit in vivid annoyance this time.

I took a deep breath for good measure, then got out of the car and walked into the house behind Edward.

Sure enough, the entire family minus Ness and Jake were standing and waiting for us. Ness and Jake were sitting nearby, but they were not a part of the Cullen trap we were walking into right now. Even Carlisle and Esme were standing in line, Carlisle with crossed arms and a neutral face, Esme with a slightly disappointed one.

Alice stood in front, seething, her eyes pitch black with anger. Childishly, I hid behind Edward and leaned my forehead against his back, between his shoulder blades. He reached with one hand behind him and wove his fingers through mine. I took comfort from his touch and his strength.

At this moment, I was actually afraid of the pixie.

"At least we know now why I couldn't see what we were going to do tonight," Alice said coldly. "Seriously, Edward? What were you _thinking_?" Her voice shot up an octave with her last words, making me cringe.

"I was thinking I was fed up with that girl," Edward said slowly, lowly. "I was thinking that considering the possible outcomes, it was going to be nasty whether she knew or not. I was thinking I wanted to get some things clear."

"Oh you made yourself clear all right," Alice said, and then she got quiet. The entire room got quiet. I knew she was showing new possible outcomes to Edward. He tensed up before me — I could feel the muscles of his back tighten against my forehead and I brought my free hand up to caress his lower back, let him know I was bearing with him.

"It's not different from what we knew," Edward finally said roughly.

"It's not," Alice agreed. "It's only more certain now. You sure took care of that."

"I think something like this was bound to happen," Emmett said somewhere behind Alice. "The girl is obviously obsessed and if Edward hadn't blown it up now—"

Edward growled reflexively, interrupting Emmett.

"Oh, hush," Esme sighed. "How old _are _you?" I wasn't sure who she was talking to, but I hoped she wasn't addressing Edward alone.

"As I was saying," Emmett continued, "if Edward hadn't blown it up now, it would have happened at a later moment. You said yourself, Alice, this doesn't really change anything. If anything, we are more certain of what will happen."

Alice grumbled a bit, but didn't speak.

"Why don't we just move?" Renesmee's shy voice came from the living room. "Look at you, all tense and almost fighting. Don't be mad at dad for kissing mom. Surely you see how incredibly ridiculous this is?"

Her logic knew no bounds.

I looked to my right and saw Ness sitting at the edge of the couch, looking so worried I wanted to kiss the fear off her face.

"Moving is a nuisance," Carlisle explained patiently. "Plus, as far as I know, there is no immediate danger of exposure, and that is our main concern."

"Yet," Rosalie hissed. "Tell me, Edward, how is it you get us into this kind of trouble again and again?"

"Easy, Rosalie," Esme said. "You know very well Edward has done nothing wrong in this."

"Nor the last time this happened," Jasper added.

"It's all about annoying brunettes," Emmett chuckled, followed by a slap and an "ow!"

"Rosalie, be nice," Carlisle chastised softly, but the tension didn't lift.

"The thing is," Alice said out loud for our benefit after a few moments of silence, "I can't _see_ what will happen. Some encounters, yes, some annoying things, also. Nothing of consequence. But it's like with Ness or Jacob around — I can't see the details."

"Dana's mind is a chaos," Edward clarified. "She makes split decisions all the time and sometimes doesn't even finish her thoughts before she acts."

"We'll need to talk about this. Let's change the setting a little," Carlisle said invitingly.

"Let us shower first," I said, my face still hidden against Edward's back. "I will feel more comfortable if we have showered first."

"Shower separately," Rosalie hissed. "It's all about you, as per usual, but it's not about you right now, as you understand."

It was a crooked way to say it, but I knew what she meant. Edward turned to press a kiss on my forehead. "You go first," he whispered. "I'll come after you."

With one last look at him, I went upstairs to take the well-anticipated shower. As the water hit me, I let out a groan that was a mixture between the relief of the relaxing heat on my skin, and the general frustration of the day. From a fuckhot paper plane to utter irritation, to even hotter lovemaking in our meadow, only to come home to a cross examination of a tense family that seemed ready to blame us for this.

But truly, what could we have done?

"Do you hear that, Edward? She is starting without you," I could Emmett's deep voice hear saying over the rush of the water.

It took Edward approximately two seconds to appear in the bathroom, and even less time to get undressed and step into the shower with me.

"I heard you were starting without me," he growled, lips nipping at my neck and hands everywhere at the same time.

"I wouldn't dare," I replied, breathless and struggling for coherency.

"Good. I wouldn't want to miss it." I could feel him smiling against my shoulder. Then he gripped my hips softly and turned me around, teeth nipping at my shoulder again the moment I was facing the wall.

His hands were everywhere once again, and when I whimpered, one hand snaking up to cover my mouth. "Not a sound," he whispered. "We're in for it if they hear us."

Like they didn't know.

With his other hand, he found my sweetest spot without any effort and soon my legs were shaking from the effort to hold myself up. I was breathing rapidly but I didn't want to climax just yet. I wanted to feel him inside me where it mattered.

"Hold on to that wall, because you'll need the support. And for the love of all that is holy, be quiet," he growled lowly in my ear before he took the lobe between his teeth and slid home.

Oh God.

Oh God.

Yes.

~O~

Yeah, Alice was pissed.

When we came back down the stairs, not having let the family waiting for longer than when we would have showered separately, they were waiting for us in the living room.

The atmosphere was tense still, and we sat down in the one loveseat that was still free in the room.

"We need to talk," Carlisle said solemnly. "Let me try to summarize what has been happening so far, in order to understand it better. Alice has been having visions about this girl Dana and the lengths she will go to to get Edward's attention. At the beginning of this week, we decided that it was best to keep a low profile and that it would be better if this girl did not know about Edward and Bella's relationship. Am I still correct?"

We nodded, and Carlisle continued, turning to Edward and me.

"You have decided to act otherwise today and as a result of your actions, Alice's visions have changed. They have not changed in terms of what will happen, they have merely become more certain. Am I still correct?"

"Yes," Alice replied tersely. "The possibility that this will blow over has become almost nil."

"Alice, can you tell us what you have seen?"

"Not much, Carlisle. She'll show up here and there, but I can't see the details. I wish I could. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Try to focus," Emmett said quietly. "Maybe, if Jake needs to go…?"

"It's not that. I think not, at least," Alice frowned, chewing her lip and pulling her legs up to fold herself into a tight ball.

"I can leave for a while, if needs be," Jake offered from the couch. "I'll take Ness even. I mean, we all know we are messing with your frequency."

Nobody laughed at his joke.

"It's not that," Alice repeated. "I think it's more like what Edward said. She changes her mind every other second. It's scary."

"It is," Edward agreed.

"It makes me nervous," Alice said sadly, her anger forgotten.

Jasper hugged her. "It's okay darling," he said softly. "It's not your fault."

"And it isn't your responsibility either," Edward said, probably replying to something she was thinking.

"The one main concern is whether she will be a risk of exposure," Rosalie said. "If she is, she either needs to be taken care of, or we have to move."

"Taken care of?" Ness asked carefully. "I'm sorry, does that mean what I think it means?"

Rosalie looked at her, eyes still hard. "Yes."

Ness recoiled visibly and I shot Rose some daggers for daring to upset my daughter like this.

"There will be no taking care of," Carlisle said before either Rosalie or I could lash out at the other. "Rosalie, calm down. We have to do this as a family. Alice, you say that for now, there is no risk of exposure?"

Alice shook her head slowly. "Not yet. But like I said, it's all a blur. Gah."

"It's okay, honey," Esme said.

"It's not okay," Alice muttered. "It is, most definitely, not okay."

"Then what do we do?" Jake asked.

"Excellent question," Carlisle replied. "Alice?"

"Why are you looking to me?" she asked, her eyes going wide. "I thought you just said it wasn't my responsibility?"

"Because you know most," Emmett said, stating the obvious.

"I don't know anything," Alice hissed. "This girl messes with my head."

"That's what he said," I muttered, jerking my head in Edward's direction.

"But she's just a human girl, right?" Rosalie asked, with a voice that bordered on incredulous. "How can she mess with you so much?"

"Her mind works differently," Edward said thoughtfully. "It's almost like she doesn't realize half of what she can do."

"That's exactly it!" Alice exclaimed. "There's all this potential but she doesn't use it."

"Yet?" Rosalie asked when Alice stopped speaking quite suddenly.

"I hope not," Alice frowned. "I don't know." She sighed, frustrated.

"So, what do we do?" Emmett repeated Jake's question. "We're not getting any further with this."

"We're not. As moving and getting new identities is tedious and costly business, I propose we do not make this decision lightly. As long as there is no risk of exposure, I say we stay put and keep our heads cool," Carlisle said. "How does that sound?"

"I still think Edward shouldn't have kissed Bella," Alice grumbled.

"It only has made things more clear, Alice, and the consequences still are not too dangerous." Edward looked at his sister closely and changed his tone. "Why are you so upset?" He knew the answer. His tone was gentle, but I knew he knew the answer.

"You know why," Alice said. "The outcome could have been more dangerous than this. It was a risk, Edward, an unnecessary risk."

"Tell me you wouldn't have done the same if she was after Jasper," I said quietly. "You wouldn't want to deny him, either."

Alice shrugged and looked away.

"I think we should make plans, though," Esme said softly. "We should be ready to leave at any moment. I would feel better if I knew we could move smoothly, even if we had to go suddenly. Is it too much to ask to make those preparations?"

"You mean new papers, a possible place to live, those things?" Jasper asked.

"Exactly. Just in case. Clearly, Alice is uneasy and I don't like to live, or leave, in fear."

"None of us do," Rosalie said. "But being prepared sounds good, since you obviously are not going to opt for the easy way out."

"I don't like the easy way out," Ness muttered.

"Not that, Ness. We could also just move _now_," Rosalie clarified, looking at all of us with her cold stare. "We're not used here yet. It's easier to disappear now."

"We are not going to move," Carlisle said calmly. "There is no immediate danger and it is easier to settle somewhere new if I have a job already. And you, Rosalie, of all of us, are often most adamant against us moving before it is absolutely necessary."

Rosalie huffed and crossed her arms, showing in her stance what she could not put into words. Emmett wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. She relaxed visibly, but the frown didn't leave her face.

"Then I shall go to Jenks," Jasper announced, trying to relieve some of the tension through both words and gift. "I know I'll feel better if we _do_ something."

"And I'll do some research to where we can go and live next," Esme said. "Even if we don't use it right away, it's good to know."

"And what do we do _now_?" I asked, amazed that everybody seemed to be happy to plan ahead, forgetting that we had the here and now to deal with too.

"Whatever you want," Alice said flatly. "You obviously don't care about what I say."

I lost my patience. "Alice, stop acting like a petulant child. We went against you. This isn't the first time it happened and it won't be the last. Deal with it. And besides, I thought it was settled by now the consequences are mild."

"This time," she said, black eyes turning to me. "You've been lucky this time."

"This time," I conceded. "As soon as you know more, we'll listen more carefully to you. But I am with Edward in this. I think he was right to claim me before her. It was getting tedious and besides, why on earth would we hide this? What difference could it make?"

"She'll try harder," Jasper grumbled.

"Let her try," I shrugged. "See what she can do. I can't stand that we are having a family meeting, 'us against the rest' over something like this. Damn."

"Bella, language," Esme said softly. "But maybe you are right. It's just all very new and we are worried about you. You are still so new to this life."

Apart from the fact that this was a completely random argument, I was perfectly able to fend for myself and I told her so.

She met my gaze squarely when she replied. "I know."

We talked some more and Alice told us the things she had seen. The girl would move heaven and earth to try and get Edward alone and we agreed to not let this happen, although we weren't overly worried about it. Alice would see and Edward would hear her coming.

We weren't looking forward to the amount of energy this girl was going to cost us, but we agreed that moving was a rash decision over a girl who wasn't an immediate danger and who knew what we would find when we settled in our new place?

"Remember that girl who mooned over you, Emmett?" Jasper asked.

"Don't go there, please," Rosalie warned.

"What happened?" Renesmee asked, knowing that with Rosalie she could get away with almost anything.

"She had a crush on me," Emmett grinned. "A heavy crush. She tried to flirt with me and wasn't put out when Rosalie put her in her place again and again."

"And again," Rosalie muttered. "That girl knew no bounds."

"Until one night I found her on the hood of my car, naked," Emmett said, his face falling. "Alice never foresaw the danger and thought it was best to let it play out, the humiliation being the best cure for the girl. By then we knew words weren't enough."

The room fell silent, and Emmett chewed his lip in a rare nervous gesture. Rosalie shifted closer to him.

"Alice saw only just in time what was going to happen and Jasper and Carlisle hauled me away. I was ready to pounce her."

"What? Why?" I asked, confused. Surely Emmett wouldn't even _think_ of doing things with another girl, let alone a human one. That was just all kinds of wrong.

"Her arousal…" Emmett finally said, looking away. "It was too much, combined with the scent of her blood. You know how prone I am to making such mistakes."

Rosalie rubbed Emmett's leg. "Nothing happened, sweetie. We were there in time."

"Yeah," Emmett breathed, the disappointment he must have felt then showing on his face.

"We had a hell of a time trying to convince the girl that Emmett was schizophrenic and was having a psychosis when he tried to jump her. We told her his black eyes were because of contacts and that he believed he was a devil," Alice said. "I don't think she believed us for a second."

"She didn't know _what_ to believe," Edward added. "Eventually she chose to believe our story, but she kept thinking he was playing his role _very_ well indeed."

"We left then," Jasper said dryly. "We weren't exposed but it was a close enough call. Where did we move then?"

"Norway, for a while," Carlisle said. "But none of us liked it there."

"Scary folks," Rosalie shuddered. She didn't elaborate and I didn't ask.

"Anyway, Bella, I believe you and I are to get a dinner ready," Esme said, changing the topic and ending the conversation.

I groaned theatrically and followed my makeshift mother into the kitchen.

The smells were awful but I did help Esme out, preparing a nice three-course dinner for ten people. Looking at the dishes and bowls that were scattered throughout the kitchen, I sighed in compassion. "You are going to have a hard time tonight."

"We do it often. It's part of the deal," Esme said gently, smiling. "I'm used to eat human food. And I do believe it's easier for me than for you."

"Don't get me started," I grinned. "Vile stuff. I can't believe how I loved food when I was still human."

"Still, you did," Edward said, coming up behind me and wrapping his long arms around my waist. He kissed my neck and I leaned back against him, moving my head to the side to give him better access.

"Can I take my wife with me, dear mother?" Edward asked, voice dripping with vampire charm. "I do believe we are supposed to go out tonight."

"Movie!" Alice said from her room. "First a movie, then pool. Ness and Jake will go home after the movie."

"Awh," Ness pouted. "I don't have to go to sleep tonight, you know."

"It's a school night," I said from the kitchen. "You'll go to bed at a decent time."

Ness made a frustrated sound, but didn't argue.

"Red dress, black pumps," Alice said as we walked past her door towards our room. When I looked inside, I saw that she was doing Rose's hair.

"Yes, boss," I saluted mockingly.

Edward and I got dressed separately, rather unceremoniously, knowing that we were in for it if we tried to consummate our marriage at this moment. Besides, we didn't really have a lot of time, plus I would have the entire next day with Edward, and Edward alone. I could wait for a bit.

Truly.

Or I could try, at least.

Or maybe…

"No," Alice said flatly. "Absolutely not."

Drat.

When we got downstairs again, the first guests had already arrived. Boring, middle aged people who surely had achieved a lot in their careers and their plus ones, men or women who didn't know where to look.

Acting like a bored teenager, I said hi to the people, but didn't shake their hands. Too risky.

Edward looked stunning in dark jeans and a blue oxford, finished with a black suit jacket. I was momentarily distracted when I looked at him and he smiled his crooked smile, knowing very well what he did to me.

Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper came down the stairs then, all looking fabulous in a perfect mixture between casual and fancy dress. Alice came bouncing after, her eyes twinkling.

I walked to her and looked in her eyes, which were glowing amber again. "You no longer mad?" I asked carefully.

"No," she smiled. "You know me, I can't stay angry for long. But you took a dangerous risk, Bella."

"Hey, don't blame me!" I said. "I wasn't the one who kissed me."

"Don't think I don't know what you would have done if Edward hadn't beat you to it," Alice said sharply.

Um, yeah. She was right, of course. I looked away to hide the blush that never came.

Behind us, the guests were talking and drinking, and Esme was busy being the perfect host. Carlisle mingled and talked and I saw more than one woman eyeing him with obvious interest.

Poor Esme.

And poor Carlisle.

"Ready?" Emmett asked us in general.

"I can't find my leather jacket!" Ness shouted from upstairs, for the benefit of the humans in the house.

"It's in Jake's Rabbit," I called up, "now let's go!"

Ness came bouncing down, followed by Jake who was glowing with his usual laidback happiness.

"May I present to you my adoptive children," Carlisle said proudly as he introduced us all.

Ness scooted closer to me and touched the back of my hand with hers, shy with the amount of attention she was getting.

"They will go out for pizza and a movie tonight," Carlisle continued, playing the role of father very well. "Behave," he winked at us, then gestured we could leave.

We trailed out of the room towards the garage. Emmett took on the part of excited teenager and yelled "pizza, baby!" just before he closed the door behind him. The guests snickered and continued their conversation. I shut them out as we divided ourselves over three cars — Jasper and Alice in Alice's Porsche, Emmett and Rosalie in Emmett's Dodge, and the rest of us in the Volvo.

As we turned down the driveway, Alice called me. We both turned the phone onto speaker, so we could all chat. "Movie first," Alice announced. "It will be ridiculous, though."

"Way to spoil the fun," Ness said dryly, and we snickered.

"It only takes decades to get used to," Rosalie replied. "Just saying."

The drive went fast enough as we were bantering along the way, Edward and Emmett often pulling up so we were driving next to each other.

When we parked the car, I was very happy to notice that the atmosphere had lightened significantly. I looked at Jasper questioningly, to see if he had anything to do with it, but he shook his head slowly, almost imperceptibly. That would be a no, then.

"So, when will you be doing my dare?" Emmett asked Edward and me as we queued to buy the tickets.

"When we go pooling," Alice said without looking up. Then she pulled out her wallet and purchased tickets for all of us.

We bought three big buckets of popcorn — all for Jake — and some soda for good measure, then went for the movie. Jasper was uneasy, but the theatre was relatively empty and his thirst was bearable.

We sat four by four, divided over two rows, so we were all close together. Nobody but Ness really watched it. Edward was whispering paper planes in my ear nearly constantly, rubbing lazy circles on my thigh and clearly excited about the upcoming dare. I made a mental note to keep him to each and every one.

Jake was too busy looking at Ness's mesmerized expression, which was fixed at the screen. Rosalie and Alice were discussing new make-up techniques and Jasper and Emmett were making ridiculous fun of the movie, distracting even Edward and me numerous times with their jokes.

At one point, Emmett cried out a perfect Wilhelm-scream a second before it sounded in the movie, and we laughed so hard we were nearly removed from the theatre.

Maybe movies about vampires were just not cut out for us.

As Jake's Rabbit _still_ wasn't fixed, Jacob drove the Volvo home. I could tell Edward wasn't at all relaxed about it. Neither was I. But Alice told me she could see Carlisle greeting them when they got home safely. From the look in her eyes and the frown on Edward's face, I figured they would not drive straight home.

Ah, well. It was not like we would be able to stop it from happening.

After Jake and Ness were gone, we walked to a pool center that was open 24 hours and chose a spot in the back where it was quiet. We got curious looks from the others at the pool center, but we paid them no heed. Mainly they were men ogling Rosalie and she couldn't care less about that.

I tired to tell myself that the men weren't looking at me also. Alice, in that respect, got off easy. She was as attractive as we were, but somehow attracted a different type of men.

Nevertheless, our own men latched on to us, making the message clear, and most of the people that were present lost their interest quickly enough.

Rosalie went to buy us drinks and Emmett started a game — guys against girls. The guys beat us solidly, and mercifully quick. Emmett finished the game fast because he finally wanted to pose his dare.

I stood waiting next to Edward, arms crossed, to see what he would come up with. Alice had promised me it would be good for me too, but seeing Emmett's wicked grin I wasn't all too sure anymore.

"All right," Emmett announced, licking his lips in anticipation. "Edward, I want you to kiss Bella."

I raised my eyebrows and wanted to say something, but Emmett spoke again before I could start.

"I want you to kiss Bella, with _this._" And he held up a tiny cup of honey, the type that holds enough to use on one sandwich.

Or the type that holds enough for one kiss.

Oh. Hell. _Yes_.

"Oh!" Rosalie exclaimed softly. "I would've liked that dare, too."

The dare wasn't about the taste of the honey, because after venom, honey was the sweetest thing in the world to us. It was no problem at all to have that heavenly taste in your mouth.

The dare was reigning in the consequences, because the taste honey had the tendency to drive us, and Rosalie and Edward specifically, wild with lust.

Edward caught the tiny cup of honey handily when Emmett threw it at him. I sat myself down on a bar stool that stood against the wall and spread my legs so Edward could stand in between them, capturing me between the wall and his body.

He opened the cup of honey and scooped the majority up with two fingers, which he held up to me.

"Please play along, this might take a while," Edward said to his siblings without looking away from me.

"You know you are not able to leave, as per dare rules?" Emmett asked, laughing.

"Sure, sure," Edward murmured and he brought his fingers to my mouth.

I sucked them in, swirling my tongue around them so taste as much of the honey as possible. I closed my eyes and moaned softly as the sweetness of the honey hit my tongue. Edward's face was close to mine. His mouth was open slightly and he was focusing intently on my mouth, which was working around his fingers.

When his fingers were clean, he pulled them out and replaced them with his own mouth, first softly tracing my lips with his tongue before I let him in and his tongue caressed mine.

His hips bucked against mine when the taste of the honey hit him and his kiss grew fiercer, hungrier. A low purr started to rumble from his chest and I pulled him closer against me, tangling one hand in his hair and snaking another under his jacket, pulling his oxford from his jeans to reach his skin.

The honey drove us both insane, and we were kissing like our lives depended on it. I could feel Edward's arousal as his hips ground against me and I wrapped my legs around him to pull him closer still. His hands were in my hair, on the sides of my face, in the nape of my neck, down my back, back in my hair again.

We kissed until the taste of the honey was gone, and then we kept on kissing to calm the other down a bit. When we returned from orbit, Edward stepped back and we grinned goofily at each other. Then we turned to our siblings again, who were playing pool like nothing had happened.

"See," our pixie sister said, shooting the black ball flawlessly into the pocket. "Never bet against Alice."

* * *

_Long endnote - you are allowed to skip and go review immediately ;)_

_First, if you are wondering what's up with our couple and water - I honestly don't know. They just end up in the shower almost every time, it seems. _

_Second, a personal note. I put this on my profile too, but I'm giving it here too. You could probably care less, but still. Real life usually pulses by at a regular beat and as such is easy to ignore. This changes however when that beat becomes irregular and you find yourself at the ER, hoping to God that nothing is seriously wrong with your boyfriend's heart.  
_

_I won't abandon the story. I just hope you will understand it when I cannot update in my usual rhythm. I'll try to let you know on my profile if I can't make it. I hope you understand my priorities have shifted somewhat. _

_Now, press review for me, please :)_


	17. A day off

**A/N I don't own Twilight**.

_Thanks for reading and reviewing. Apologies for leaving updates this late. When real life collapses, there is little energy nor joy in writing anymore. I'm sorry if it shows in this chapter. For those that read my earlier notes - it's not my boy's heart. _

_Special thanks to Sherriola for beta duties and for simply being there. Always.  
_

_Enjoy :)_

* * *

When we drove home, chased away by enquiring looks from the pool hall personnel, I sat with Edward in the back of Emmett's Dodge, chewing my lip and thinking.

Edward asked my attention by grasping my chin between his thumb and forefinger, softly pulling my lip from between my teeth. "Don't," he said softly. "What are you thinking?"

Instead of lifting my shield and letting him in, I decided to talk out loud for the benefit of the others.

Just at that moment, Emmett's phone rang and he put it on speaker in his car kit.

"Hey," Alice's voice sounded over the speaker.

"Hey," I replied. "Alice, didn't you say earlier there was human blood involved in your visions? What happened, did that change?"

After a long moment of silence, she answered. "No. That didn't change. Like I said, all is the same, just more certain. I didn't feel the need to bring that detail up again. Dana is ambivalent. We'll have to wait and see and be on our guards."

In the front seat, Rosalie crossed her arms and huffed.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked while looking back out of the rear window. Alice, who was driving behind us, nodded when I met her eyes. "Why were you so angry earlier?"

Alice sighed softly. "It's nothing."

"It is," I persisted. "I've never seen you so upset."

"Stop the car," Edward said softly, suddenly.

Without asking, Emmett steered the car to the side of the road and we got out. Behind us, Alice and Jasper did the same.

"You can go," Alice said to Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie. Then she turned to Edward and I. "We need to talk."

She didn't say this like she was going to bring us bad news, and gauging from the look on Edward's face, this wouldn't be a nasty conversation.

"You sure, honey?" Jasper asked, worried. His hand trailed up her back, softly rubbing smoothing circles.

"I'm sure," Alice smiled. "It's nothing. We just… well, we need to talk."

After a lingering worried glance, Jasper gave in and got in the Porsche to drive away. Rosalie shrugged and pulled Emmett with her as well, and within seconds we were alone, in the middle of nowhere along the side of the road.

"So…" I started. I knew Alice knew what was going to happen and I knew Edward knew that Alice knew. I also knew that Edward knew what Alice knew, if she had decided to show it to him. I was the only one that didn't know and I felt out of the loop here.

"Alice looked at me and her face crumbled. "I'm so sorry," she said in a small voice. "I've been too hard on you two. I just wanted to protect you, and I failed. I was more angry at myself than at you. I'm sorry."

I pulled her into a hug before I could stop myself. "You acted out of love," I whispered, a lump in my throat making my voice crack. "You never meant any harm." I forgave her in an instant.

"It would have been better if Dana hadn't known, though."

"Even though you can see what can happen, it doesn't always mean it will happen that way," Edward said. "Things have gone differently than planned, before. And in this case I am willing to take the risk. Maybe she'll tire of us when she learns she can get to us. It's still a possible outcome, too.""

"I know," Alice sighed. "It's fading by the second, though."

"Listen," I said, "I know you love us honey, but if the roles were reversed and this was about you and Jasper…"

Alice shrugged, dismissing my claim. Okay, so using them as an example wasn't going to work, they could get each other off whilst being on the other side of the room.

Bloody empaths.

"Emmett and Rose, then? They'd have managed about an hour, and they'd not have just kissed to stake their claim."

"True," Alice conceded. "In fact, they did, didn't they? I'm sorry. We expect too much of you. We all do. Forgive me?"

Her wide puppy dog eyes searched mine and I laughed in spite of myself. "What do you think?"

I pulled her back into a hug and she hugged me back. Behind her, Edward placed a hand on her shoulder to show his support but physically as well as mentally I suppose.

"While we're at it," I mused, still embracing her, "will you tell me why you are so against us making love? Because seriously, it's starting to get annoying."

Alice chuckled at this, her entire body shaking against mine. "And you actually listen. Which is more pathetic, you think?"

I swatted her arm playfully. "Hey!"

"It's just… the amount of lust you emanate when you make love is so fierce Jasper can't suck it all up. Sometimes, when we really need to go somewhere, I have to stop you. Not because I don't want you to make merry," she winked, "but because Jasper can't keep it in and pours it out over all of us again. Then nobody gets anything done."

I looked at her, stunned. "I never knew."

"Of course not," she sniggered. "There's remarkably little you two notice when you are getting lost in each other. Especially when you shield the entire house to give him silence," she jerked her head into Edward's direction when she said this, and he laughed heartily at her remark.

"But Jasper can stop us if it's so bad? I mean, he can make us all depressed or something like that?"

Alice looked at me, incredulous. "Oh, I'm sure you would just love that."

She was right, we probably wouldn't.

"And the thing is, I could ask you to try and reign it in, but that really wouldn't be fair either, since you are technically still newlyweds, plus I know you _are _trying, and you're doing remarkably well, too."

"It's a dilemma," Edward agreed, and when I looked up at him I saw the sparkle in his eyes. 'We just ventured out into this world too soon. I guess these are the consequences."

"They're mild, considering the possibilities I have seen," Alice shrugged.

Edward nodded at her, and once again I felt out of the loop.

"Hello, non-mindreader present," I tried.

Alice smiled at me, a happy smile now the weight of her admission was off her shoulders. "I saw you getting it on like rabbits in the middle of the classroom, stuff like that."

I raised my eyebrow at her casual revelation. "I'd never…"

Alice shrugged and let her gaze wander to Edward for a moment before she turned back to me. "No, you'd never," she said sweetly. "I'm off home. See you… Saturday. I'll text you. Both." She hugged us both fiercely, quickly, and then she was off into the forest, heading home.

We remained standing in the quiet night, on the side of the road. I looked at Edward and his eyes seemed to be glowing in the faint light of the streetlamps.

"Our day off has started," he breathed. His hands trailed from my elbows, down my underarms, until he reached my hands. His fingers intertwined with mine and as he stepped closer to me, I could smell his delicious scent. I could also hear him purr.

"I think, if it weren't for Renesmee, I would want to put off the entire school thing for another couple of years," I said softly.

"We still can," he said softly, looking down at me tenderly and caressing the backs of my hands with his thumbs. "Whatever you want."

I looked up to meet his eyes. "I want to be as close to Ness as possible. Don't you want that too?"

"I do," he said honestly. "I'm torn when it comes to by whom my loyalty lies more." He smiled, his sexy, crooked smile. "But if you are unhappy in school, then we have to find a compromise."

"I'm not unhappy," I said, chewing my lip in contemplation. "Not really. I'm with you, close to Ness, and the rest of the family is around us."

"But you're not _happy_, either."

My shoulders sagged. "I wanted this to be perfect and easy, but I find it impossible to stay away from you for too long. Plus I forgot to calculate annoying humans into the equation."

Edward laughed, a rumble deep in his chest. "Yeah, we already tweaked our formulas and algorithms when you came around. You'll learn to live with it."

He ruffled my hair playfully and I tried to dodge him, unsuccessfully.

"You know what I mean," I pouted, but I was laughing.

"You have me at your leisure the upcoming four days," he purred, leaning in to kiss the spot underneath my ear. "And we have a lot to do."

My knees buckled and I struggled for coherence for a moment before I could speak again. "Ness goes first," I said. "We'll just have to suck it up and try to ease on poor Jasper."

He grinned, I could feel his lips curve into a smile against the skin of my neck. "Of course Ness comes first. That's not a point of discussion. But for now I want your undivided attention, at least until tomorrow morning when we see our daughter off to school. Can you do that?" His kisses trailed up to trace the line of my jaw until he reached the corner of my mouth.

"Then you'll have to keep me focused on you," I whispered as his lips claimed my mouth.

"I will— Oh, poop," he interrupted himself, then straightened up and looked over his shoulder. "Car coming. Let's go."

Here he was, demanding my undivided attention, and yet he was still able to actually process what was going on around him. I told him as much as he pulled me onto his back and started to run.

"I'm a bit more experienced than you," he chuckled. "I want you to focus on the fun things alone."

I huffed and bit his neck playfully. "If you keep protecting me like that, I will never learn to be more careful."

His feet were pounding the earth and I could hear the wind rushing through the leaves, could hear the nightlife stilling and scurrying away from our approach.

"In a few decades," he shrugged. "I like protecting you. Plus I kind of like you getting so lost in me that you don't register the world around you anymore."

I threw my head back and laughed at that, and he laughed with me. Then, when he was unguarded, I leapt off his back with a surprisingly graceful jump and sprinted away from him — pumps and all.

Edward's eyes lit up at the prospect of a chase and soon he was after me, following me closely as I weaved through the trees.

Chases like these never took very long, as Edward still was faster than me. But for the fun of it, he let me slip through his fingers a couple of times, grazing my back but not tackling me like he easily could.

We both laughed exuberantly and the sound echoed in the forest, combined with the crushing of the leaves under our skin and the wind in our ears, and I felt some of the tension lift.

"What's the matter, Edward," I called over my shoulder, laughing. "Too busy keeping track of the world around us?"

With a growl, he crouched and leapt in one fluid movement, landing on top of me and tackling me in the process. Within the blink of an eye, I was flat underneath him, his delicious weight pressing me down into the earth that felt warm against my back. His fingers where in my hair and he looked down at me, eyes wild but with a look of pure devotion etched on his face.

"You drive me crazy," he breathed, before he leaned in to kiss me. He brushed his lips against mine before he opened his mouth and his tongue slid against mine, caressing, loving. His purr set off mine and when he closed his eyes to get lost in the sensation, I did the same.

"Remind me to buy us some more honey," he rumbled in between kisses and I giggled.

My legs went up almost of their own volition and closed around his waist, kicking my shoes off in the process, and his right hand left my hair to grip my thigh and hold it against him. His hips thrust forward and I could feel his arousal right there where I needed it.

I moaned into his mouth and he responded in kind. His hand traced upwards from my thigh to my breast, massaging it and rubbing the peak through the thin fabric of my dress.

"You look delectable in this dress," he whispered in between kisses as his mouth traced down my jaw towards my collarbone.

"You look delectable, period," I countered, once more pulling his oxford from his jeans to get to his skin. When I scratched my nails down his back, he shuddered and growled softly, deep in his chest.

"I want you here, now," he breathed, sucking on my neck. His hand moved from my breast to push up my dress and his fingertips traced my leg upwards and inwards until he brushed against the apex of my thighs. I almost convulsed at the contact, I was so turned on already.

Suddenly impatient, I unbuckled his belt and opened the button fly of his jeans, reaching inside his boxer briefs to free his straining erection. I enveloped him with my hands as I pulled him closer to me still with my legs.

With a flick of his wrist, my panties were gone and while he was still sucking on my neck, his teeth softly grazing my skin, he pressed forward and entered me. We both groaned in ecstasy.

_Finally. _

"I need this more often," I breathed into his neck as I raised my hips to meet his thrusts.

He didn't reply, completely lost in his movements inside me. His tongue swirled on my skin and his hands were everywhere — gripping my thighs, caressing my hair, brushing along the swell of my breasts, and finally, hooked around my shoulders underneath my back to get closer to me.

It was never close enough.

He moved in me. Slow and gentle, fast and uncoordinated, willing and submitting, controlling and demanding. It was everything and it lasted until dawn.

When we got home, the others were getting ready for school. We slipped past them, not wanting to be seen in our muddy state, and crawled into the shower together where we just continued what we had started.

We were both purring quite constantly by now, finally truly reconnecting again, and Emmett just couldn't stop laughing at the sound. He never said anything, but every time he walked past our door, he'd stop and laugh again. We let it go.

He was teasing us — of all of us he was by far the loudest and he knew it. Well.

We didn't see Alice, or Jasper, as she had indicated when she left us the night before. We saw Ness and Jake getting into the Dodge with Emmett and Rosalie and they left for school. Edward and I stood watching until they disappeared from sight and then we turned to each other, happy and excited.

"So…," I said.

"So…" he echoed, but I saw the gleam in his eyes.

He looked at me as once more his hands traveled from my elbows down to my wrists, loosely weaving his fingers through mine.

'What now?" he breathed.

"Oh please, Edward, I _know_ you have planned this day to the last second."

He ducked his head and grinned, a boyish, disarming grin that made me giggle in turn. Then he pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose.

"It's already going differently than I had planned. Not that I object," he added, "but still, different."

"Then what did you have planned?" I asked, stepping closer to him. The electricity between us was buzzing and I wanted to crawl into him. If it were up to me, I would not lose bodily contact with him until Tuesday morning when we had to be back in school again.

He moved his mouth to my ear and I could feel his lips move against the shell as he spoke. "I had planned for you to take a _very_ hot shower," he purred, "and then I had planned you to come back down here again, and…"

I prevented him from talking any further by pulling my head back and placing two fingers on his lips. "That can still be arranged."

His face lit up like a child's in a candy store, and he kissed me solidly, once, before he pushed me towards the stairs. "Take your time," he said, and his eyes were sparkling once again.

Mischief. Hmmm.

I showered under water that was as hot as it could get, warming my skin and wondering if this was what Edward wanted — a warmer body against his cold one.

I knew he missed the human me. He'd never admit it with so many words, but I knew he missed my blush, my scents, my bodily reactions like goose bumps and the more obvious ones. I think he even missed my sweat. He missed my heat, my pulse. He missed my blood, even though he would never admit it.

Coming downstairs again in just a robe, he'd placed pillows on the ground by the fireplace. He had pulled the curtains closed, leaving the house in twilight. A fire was going on in the hearth, but it was nothing compared to the fire in his eyes as he saw me approaching.

I recognized the music he had put on and I suppressed a laugh. "_Cum Dederit_, Edward? Really?"

"Hush," he smiled, knowing full well the tackiness of choosing this song.

Without a word, he untied my robe and slid it off my shoulders, biting his lip as he marveled at what he saw. "Beautiful," he whispered, as he leaned in to kiss me.

Then he guided me over to the pillows, lifted me up and lay me down gently. I reclined in the plush cushions and let my body relax as his hands started to roam over my body.

"You're warm," he breathed.

"You're cold," I countered. He chuckled, then produced some massaging oil and rubbed some in his hands.

"I hope you have some time to endure this," he murmured as he placed my foot in his lap and started massaging. He rubbed each of my toes meticulously before he moved on to the instep of my foot, and by the amount of effort he put in only this small piece of my body, I knew he wasn't entirely joking when he asked for time.

"I have forever for you. With you," I smiled as I luxuriated in his touch.

He rubbed my entire body, from my toes to my fingertips, and although I wanted to close my eyes to focus more on the sensation, I found I could not tear away my gaze from his face. There was a look of worship etched on there that I wanted to consume.

Once or twice I tried to stop him from rubbing me and get him to provide me with some other type of friction, but every time he stopped me with a pleading look. He needed to give this to me. And who was I to refuse?

It took him a couple of hours to finish his massage. After that he undressed, wordlessly still, and slid over me, the friction eased by the massage oil that was left on my body. It wouldn't get absorbed by my skin, so I would stay like this until I showered.

Edward didn't mind, it seemed, as he slid over me and into me in one fluid movement. He brought his legs up under mine and I wrapped my legs around his waist, a gesture so familiar it felt like coming home.

He wasn't really moving with a purpose any other than just being inside me. As his fingers tangled in my hair, I knew we were going to talk for a bit.

"You owe me some paper planes, Cullen," I said coyly.

He chuckled. "I do. About fifteen, if I'm not mistaken."

"Want to start now?"

"Hmm, I might," he purred, pressing deeper into me and hitting that spot that made me gasp.

"And you still haven't told me that fantasy."

He blinked once, playing innocent. "What fantasy?"

"The human Bella fantasy. As much as I know you like me being warmer than you, I don't think this was it."

He groaned and let his head drop to my shoulder. "You'll hate me."

"Never," I vowed. "Just tell me, Edward. I can't believe that you are shy over this."

"It's just… I knew you would never have allowed it when you were still human."

I was tired of his hedging. I rolled us over so I was straddling him and started moving in earnest. His eyes closed in pleasure and he smiled as the results of my ministrations registered.

"Tell me."

His eyes opened again and when he hesitated, I stopped moving. He groaned in disappointment and surprise and moved his hips to meet me, but I didn't give.

"Tell me," I repeated, slowly moving again and gyrating my pelvis against his for a moment. "If you want more, tell me."

He let his head fall back and put his arm over his eyes as he sighed. "Fine. I was hoping to catch your period when we were on our honeymoon, but we never got that far."

I looked at him, aghast. When he looked at me from under his arm, he was suspicious. "You okay? You are not moving. Are you okay?"

"That's it?" I asked, incredulous.

"Um, yes?" Very rarely did Edward form an answer into a question. It was a habit he had copied from me.

I laughed, hard, and I felt him twitch inside me as my movements probably gave him some pleasant sensations as well.

"What did you think it was?" he asked carefully.

"I don't know," I said honestly, "but certainly not this! I would indeed have broken my hand by slapping you had you proposed this on our honeymoon, but right now I find it altogether amusing."

He smiled, some tension leaving his face, and he gripped my hips steadily in his hands. "Move," he mouthed, and I happily obliged.

We made love for a few hours, bringing the other to the edge and back, or toppling over it together. I had missed making love in the comfort of our own home, with this amount of privacy surrounding us.

When we were ready to let each other go long enough to take a shower (again) and get dressed, Edward announced carefully that he wanted to take me car shopping today.

"Your Ferrari is really getting old, and you need something to race with us, and something for smaller distances."

"I _need_ nothing, Edward," I bristled, but before I could continue, he silenced me with a pleading look.

"Just let me do this for you," he said softly. "Please."

"Buying me things won't fix what's wrong, you know," I said idly when we got into his Vanquish.

"It won't," he admitted easily. "But it will make me feel better."

Huffing, but unable to suppress my laugh, I sat back and let my husband take care of me in one of the many ways he knew how.

We arrived at the Boxter dealer and when Edward parked, I turned in my seat to look at him.

"Any specific reason we are here, and not with any other brand?"

Edward's lips twitched into a smile. "Although I want you to choose the cars yourself, I thought it might help if we only went to the dealerships where you will buy."

My eyes grew wide at this huge compromise. I silently thanked Alice for spilling so an entire day of shopping was spared on me.

"Also," he continued, and this time I saw a definite twinge of disappointment in his face, "you won't need to test drive them. Just pick out something and the rest will be fine."

I laughed, incredulous. Alice must have felt very guilty indeed if she had talked Edward into doing it like this for me. And although this must have been difficult for Edward, I felt entirely cared for and loved in this moment.

"Thank you, sweetie," I said softly. "You know what this means to me."

Edward smiled in return, before his gaze shifted to look over my shoulder. He cringed at what he probably was hearing in his mind. As I turned to follow his gaze, I saw the male sales assistant was already coming out of the show room.

"Here goes," Edward said softly as he squeezed my leg in reassurance. "Ready?"

"As I ever will be," I replied, and Edward turned my face towards his with a finger on my chin.

"Humor me," he breathed with blazing eyes and I gave in. How could I not?

We stepped out of the car and Edward linked his fingers with mine immediately when we approached the beaming sales man. It was a nice change to not have to stay away from each other.

"Welcome! What can I do for you?"

For the fun of it, I lifted my shield. Edward sensed it immediately and he tensed a little, preparing for _my_ mischief.

Oh, we are interested in buying a new bed. What do you recommend?

"We are looking for a new car."

"Excellent," the salesman said. "My name is Nick. What may I call you?"

Edward and I introduced ourselves and shook hands with the man.

"Excellent," the salesman repeated.

_That's two_.

"I have to ask you how serious you are in your quest?" Nick asked carefully.

Edward chuckled under his breath and it was obvious the salesman thought we were just fooling around.

"Very serious," Edward answered. "In fact, we intend to buy today."

"Excellent!" Nick repeated.

_Three_.

"Stop it," Edward murmured under his breath.

"No," I replied, and I could feel rather than see Edward smile from the corner of my eye.

"What sort of car are you looking for? Come, let me show you around."

"A fast one," I said like a child.

"Ah, is the car for you?" Nick asked, and I nodded in answer.

"And what did you have in mind?" he asked Edward.

Edward tensed visibly. "The car is for her, I suggest you ask her this question."

Nick swallowed and turned back to me, obviously at a loss.

"I want a Boxter Spyder and I'm partial to the color blue," I said evenly. "Don't bother about customization, my sister in law will take care of it."

"Way to ruin the fun," Edward whispered under his breath.

I shrugged. "You said I needed two cars and I want to be home when Ness comes out of school." I didn't bother to keep my voice low.

"Ah, you have a child?" Nick asked, trying to find some safe ground to get back to us again.

"We do," I said, not willing to elaborate. "Now, what Spyders do you have for me?"

We made short work of choosing the car. As Edward had promised, no test drive as needed.

Nick was utterly confused with our behavior, but I didn't care about that. I cared about buying two cars which cost so much I could buy a house with that money, but I also cared about the petulant husband I would have to deal with should I put my foot down and refuse to buy.

Plus, all façade aside, I _did_ like to drive fast. And the Ferrari truly was getting old.

It would take a while though before I would openly admit all this. The teasing would last for a century. At least.

Just when I wondered if Rose could work her miracles on it, my phone rang. I didn't look at the screen, and I didn't even say anything when I answered the call.

On the other end of the line was Rosalie, trying very hard to keep her excitement under control. "_Yes_ I can tinker it. When will you have it?"

"When can I have it?" I asked the salesman, who was nicely torn between excitement over selling a car and utter confusion about the lack of interest with which I did it.

"I'll pull some strings and then I can have it ready for you next Friday," Nick said, smiling widely.

"Pish, next Friday," Rosalie muttered in my ear. "All right. What color did you choose?"

"Blue," I replied, not able to contain my smile.

Rosalie laughed so hard even the salesman heard it on the other side of the counter.

We went to the Volvo dealer next, but nothing that the saleslady showed us could interest me. I was more bothered with the fact that she was entirely too interested in my husband, instead of showing me the benefits of each car. When she started to demonstrate how the back seat of one car could be put down so you had room to 'sleep in it', I simple gripped Edward's arm and simply walked out of the store.

"I thought you would only take me there where we would buy?" I asked, coyly pouting.

Edward laughed his adorable chuckle and cupped my face for a moment, caressing my cheek with his thumb. "I couldn't resist."

After that we went to the Audi dealer and there my eyes fell on a TT immediately. I eyed the car and walked around it, looking at the sleek curves and peeking through the windows at the interior.

"Seriously?" Edward asked.

"Seriously," I repeated. "Although we won't be able to take Ness with us with this."

"We can take the Volvo for that. But, _seriously_?" Hadn't Alice seen this? Was he hoping he could change my mind?

"Yes, Edward, seriously!" I laughed as the salesman approached us.

"What can I do you for?" he asked, extending a hand for introductions.

"A car," I said. "Something for small distances, errands, that stuff."

The salesman looked at me, then to the TT I had been ogling, then back to me.

"If you kids are joking around, then I suggest you leave. We are not a playground," the salesman said flatly.

"I know," Edward said. "And we really intend to buy a car. Unless of course you decide to _not_ take us seriously, then we can easily go seek business elsewhere."

The salesman swallowed, recapitulated, and plastered a big smile on his face.

"Excellent! Now tell me, how can I help you?"

**~O~**

When we drove home, I had a hard time keeping my hands off Edward. I touched his hair, his face, his legs. I felt his abs contract under my hand when I tickled him there and heard him groan when I cupped his groin.

"Bella," he warned.

"I've been good," I said, big-eyed like a child. "I chose two cars, just like you wanted me to, and you got me out of the house in the first place."

"True," he agreed. His phone beeped in his pocket and he fished it out without looking, handing it to me.

I opened the text and read it aloud — it was from our daughter.

_Would like to go out for dinner and a movie with Jake before he leaves for La Push._

"Jake will leave tonight," he explained. "He'll probably run there."

I nodded in understanding, then slid the phone back into Edward's pocket, making sure it was put away nice and safe.

He chuckled, then grinned, then groaned. "We won't have much time alone once we get home," he warned.

"Doesn't matter," I said, leaning in to nuzzle his neck. "We can be quick."

He smiled his crooked smile, which promised a lot of nice things, and floored the accelerator to get home that tiny bit quicker.

When we got home, Edward didn't bother to put the car in the garage. He came to a halt, skidding on the gravel of the driveway, and was around the car at my door within the blink of an eye. Then he scooped me up out of the car, holding me close against his body as he walked towards the door.

Suddenly, he froze in his tracks, rigid.

I lifted my head from where it was buried in the crook of his neck and looked up at him to see what was wrong. When I took a breath to ask him, I found I didn't need to ask that question.

We could smell it in the air.

Dana had been here.

* * *

_Ba-dum-dum..._

_PS: "Cum Dederit" is a piece by Vivaldi and it's fabulous. It means "What He gives" ;)  
_

_I'm giving you all I can. I considered putting this story on hiatus, but I don't want to. Don't hate me though for updating slowly. I still love you with all my heart :)_


	18. A darker fantasy

**A/N I don't own Twilight. I would have done it differently.**

_Hello all. I really thought it had been maybe 2 weeks since I updated. But when Sherryola asked me, when will you write LTL, I was shocked to see how long it had been. Sorry! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews and thank you Sherry, for being my rock. Oh, and my beta, too. Grin.  
_

_I got the question why I post Torn all the time and not this one. Truth is, I haven't really written in weeks. I was simply that far ahead with Torn. Real life sucks hard atm, and not at all in the way I'd like it to. I can't promise you to update faster. I will promise you to do what I can :)  
_

_Ehm, Edward might be a tiny bit ooc in this chapter. Enjoy!_

* * *

"Oh for the love of all that is holy," Edward sighed, frustrated. "Man up," he continued, this time addressing me while he adjusted himself, "Alice is on her way here."

Tutting in annoyance at both the unwelcome visitor as well as the fact that thanks to Alice, we were blocked _again_, I tried to distract myself for a bit by texting Ness to wish her a fun night. I didn't really need to give her permission to go out, but she needed to know we got her text and were aware of her plans.

Alice appeared through the trees shortly after, followed by Jasper who was sniffing the air vigorously, trying to determine where the scent led to.

"Whoa," Alice said when she skidded to a halt before us. "Apparently Dana loves her snap decisions. I never saw this coming."

"How did she know where we live?" I asked, confused. "Did she get access to the school files or something?"

Alice and Edward exchanged a look before Edward spoke. "It seems that one of the guests here last night was Dana's uncle. Apparently she found out through him."

"Nasty," I breathed. "So can we expect her around more often?"

"Probably," Alice said. "Like I said, snap decisions. I wasn't supposed to see you before tomorrow evening, but here I am. Damn it the girl makes me nervous," she muttered, plucking her hair nervously.

"She's not your responsibility," Jasper answered, drawn quickly from his tracking when he sensed Alice's distress. "If the ground gets too hot under our feet, we disappear."

"I don't like it," Edward said. "Not at all. It's never been like this. Usually they back off after a warning or two."

"Except the girls named Swan," Emmett piped up from behind us. Ah, the big brother and sister had arrived home, too. Alice had probably called them.

"True," Edward conceded. "But then again I would not have allowed her to get away," he added, snaking his arm around my waist and pulling me flush against his body.

"Why are you all here?" I asked, confused. "So, the girl was here. Big deal. No one was home."

My silent pledge was implied. _Get lost. I was not finished ravishing my husband._

Alice laughed. "We sensed danger. We came to check. I'm sorry Bella. This time I didn't mean to come in between you and yours."

Oh, so she had seen what I was about to do to Edward when we got inside. Alice narrowed her eyes at me when she saw me biting my lip.

"The rotten girl. Where does she live? I think it's time we tell her some truths," Rosalie scoffed. "I am so done with this. Couldn't you have told her off, Edward?"

"I have, Edward said coolly. "Literally, even. And it was made quite clear that I was taken, if you will recall. But to Dana, it's the hunt that counts."

"Like James," I breathed, and we all froze for a moment, recalling the horrible encounter I had had with the nomad.

"She's a human, and she's a bitch," Rosalie said flatly. "Honestly, how in the world can she have such influence on our lives after even one week? Why is it so wrong to just warn her off for a bit?"

"She's perceptive," Alice said quietly. "She's blind to the most obvious things, but she notices things that others miss."

"Like what?" Emmett asked.

Alice hesitated, chewing her bottom lip. Rosalie understood immediately.

"Are you _kidding _me?" she shrieked. "Are you _fucking kidding_ me, Alice?"

"Hey, no such language against my wife," Jasper warned softly, having come back from searching the grounds again.

"What?" I whispered, hoping Edward would answer me. Emmett looked lost, too.

"She may find out about us," my husband clarified. "Alice can't see when or where or how, but there's a good chance she'll find out about us."

"Oh God no," I breathed. "What do we do?

"No need to change plans," Alice shrugged. "As long as I am not sure, there is no need to run from her. The future can change. I've gotten visions before of humans finding out, and they never came true. We can leave when the outcomes will get more certain, right?"

"It can. It has," Edward agreed.

"She's long gone, anyway," Jasper said. "She was here with her car, walked around the house and left again. She didn't try to break in or anything."

"Now that's soothing," Rosalie huffed.

"Shut up," Edward hissed under his breath, so softly I thought Rose might have missed it, but the glaring look she shut him told me otherwise.

"Anyway, now we are here, this calls for a change of plans," Alice announced, changing tack suddenly. "Let's go inside."

Before I could protest, she had pulled me out of Edward's arms and was tugging me into the house, up the stairs.

I looked behind me, to see if my husband was following. He wasn't.

"Edward?" I asked, confused.

"You'll see me later, love," he promised from outside.

"Wait," I said, trying to struggle out of Alice's grip. "Where are you going?"

"You'll see," he answered vaguely. "Don't worry."

"Don't worry?" I asked Alice, incredulous. "We're dealing with a crazy human girl and you tell me not to worry?"

"What we need is distraction," Alice said pointedly, placing me in the chair in front of the vanity in her room. "We are not going to leave, and Dana is not going to stop. Until that time, we are going to do what we are _supposed_ to do: have fun."

I pouted, crossing my arms and scowling at my reflection in the mirror. "I'm not in the mood to have fun. Not your kind of fun, anyway," I frowned at Alice when she approached me with a hairbrush.

"Shut up and endure," Rosalie said from the doorway, holding some clothes in her hands. "We're going to set up a night for you and Edward."

"Ehm, what?"

I looked at Rose, whose mercurial mood shifts resembled that of my husband's sometimes. Then again, we were all known for violent mood swings, which kind of came with the kind.

"You need a break. We all need a break," she shrugged. "I'm sorry for lashing out. You can't help all that is happening."

I think my mouth may have dropped open at this. Rose apologizing was a rare occurrence indeed.

"It's okay," I replied, frowning in my amazement. Who had been talking sense into her?

"So, you need a break. The guys are taking Jasper hunting, and after that, we'll go out," Alice said from behind me as she started brushing my hair.

"Alice, I—"

"Grin and bear it, and thank us later," she said sternly, and I knew this was my sign to shut my mouth and endure.

We chatted as we took our times to get ready. Rosalie tried to ask me about the cars Edward had bought for me, but soon got frustrated as my answers weren't of any help for her. We then moved on to talk some about school, until the topic changed to the most annoying quirks of our respective husbands.

Rosalie's animated portrayal of Emmett's faces when he was feeding had us in cahoots.

"Honestly," she scoffed, "I thought it was supposed to be erotic when we hunted together, but I can't take him seriously when he looks like that."

"And of course it bugs the shit out of Emmett that you slip into a giggle fit often," Alice observed.

"It does."

"As long as he doesn't look like that when you get it on," I muttered.

"Definitely not," Rose answered, a dreamy look on her face. "Tell me something about Jasper."

Alice shrugged. "He's meticulous. No," she interrupted me as I opened my mouth to speak, "I mean _really_ meticulous. If I move his stuff an inch he can go apeshit, especially if it's something from his collection."

"But you foresee it happening, right?"

"I do," Alice grinned. "I move it and move it until I see he won't be upset about it."

"What about Edward?" Rosalie asked.

"You both know him longer than I do," I hedged.

"We are annoyed with Edward in general," Rose joked. "Tell us what bugs _you_."

I shrugged. "He's overprotective. Especially when it comes to Ness."

"Would you like him to be less protective?" Alice asked carefully.

I thought for a moment. "No, I think not. But I'd like him to be calmer. He can explode over nothing. He's so wound up lately."

"That's the Dana problem," Rosalie said. "I think Edward is afraid that either you or Ness will get hurt. You two are his universe. He did try to kill himself when he thought you had died, and now more than ever I think he'd happily give up a limb if it would mean he could guarantee you would only experience the fun things."

I swallowed at her speech. Rosalie, like no other, knew that fiercely protective love knew no bounds. She also knew Edward's need to protect, something that had remained after him being with me when I was still human.

She could be a tough one to deal with, but in the end nobody understood Edward or me better than she did.

"Which is why we are going out," Alice stated matter-of-factly.

She dressed me in a blue dress that clung to my body and of which I grudgingly had to admit I liked. A lot.

They both dressed up nicely as well, Rosalie in a silver dress which sparkling was utterly distracting to me, but Alice told me that was a lingering trait of me being so young still. Alice was in a black piece, which left her back bare.

"I need to distract Jasper from his blood lust," she winked at me when I took in her appearance.

At around eight, we left for the nearest town. Although I tried to ask questions, to somehow pry more information from my two sisters as to where we were going, and why, and more importantly, where my husband was at.

"Will he be there?" I tried.

No answer.

"Alice, what are we going to do?"

"Just wait and see, Bella," she admonished sweetly. "You're always the one asking me to not spill the future, so this time I am going to listen to you and let it all unfold."

I huffed and sat back, crossing my arms, as Alice sped through the dark, headlights off so as to not attract attention.

We arrived at a bar, nothing too fancy, just a nice place which was nicely crowded. As we stepped inside, I inhaled, and was disappointed to not find Edward's scent around us. I could not smell Jasper or Emmett, either.

"Where are they?" I asked as I turned to Alice.

Alice didn't answer but pushed me through the bar, ignoring the appreciating looks of several male guests, and guided me to a booth at the back of the room.

I sat down on the fake leather couch, looking around the place. It had a nice atmosphere, with happy music playing in the background. When my gaze finally found Alice's, she was looking at me with one eyebrow raised.

"God, you're slow," she said bluntly.

And then the realization finally dawned on me. The girls had brought me here to fill out the fantasy I had confessed to Edward. The fantasy of meeting him as a stranger in a bar.

Immediately self-conscious, I started fidgeting, plucking at my hair and dress, looking around the place if Edward had already arrived, which of course he hadn't.

"That's more like it," Rosalie laughed, looking at me from the corner of her eye. "Going to try and score tonight, Bella?" she asked then in a normal tone, so that the people around us would hear.

"I might," I smiled slyly, playing along and looking around the room once more. "If the right guy happens to fall into my hands, I just might."

True to form, some of the guys that were nearby looked over at us and took us all in, their gazes lingering, as expected, on Rosalie's elegant form.

We ordered martinis, which we actually sipped, since the sweet taste of the alcoholic beverage suited us all. We talked and laughed and gossiped about our would-be jobs, and either accepted or declined drinks from men that tried to approach us.

As the hour grew later and the music grew louder, and more and more people started to dance, I was becoming impatient. The music vibrated through my core and sucked me in, and I was itching to dance to it and get lost in the sounds. Edward was still nowhere near however, and I was wondering when he would show up.

Craning my neck to look at the door, a young man stepped into my line of vision.

"Good evening ladies, are you having a good time?" he asked.

He looked well groomed, black hair combed back, fierce blue eyes and dimples. A five o'clock shadow darkened the lower half of his face.

"We're good," Alice responded, smiling.

"I'm Dave," he said, encouraged by Alice's response. Behind him, I saw a mate of him approaching us, too. He looked over Dave's shoulder to take us in.

"I'm Alice, this is Bella, and that is Rosalie," Alice pointed out.

"I'm Matt," the second guy said, smiling eagerly. "So do you come here often? Or did you just recently fall out of the skies?"

I blinked once at his use of the two tackiest pick up lines in one breath.

"First time," I replied.

"Oh, do you like it here? Are you new around here?" Matt asked as he sat down opposite us.

"Actually, we were just going to dance," Rosalie said meaningfully as she got up and led the way to the dance floor. Her hips swayed as she walked, and both Matt and Dave were momentarily distracted by her retreating elegant figure.

Alice elbowed me in the ribs and after that not-so-subtle hint I went after Rosalie, onto the dance floor that was beginning to fill with more people already. Alice followed suit, leaving the guys grinning at our table.

Apparently they weren't hurt by our dejection.

At the dance floor, Alice walked to the DJ and whispered her personal favorites in his ear. I laughed as Beyoncé's _Single Ladies_ started to play. People began dancing enthusiastically and we followed suit, moving our hips to the music and mimicking the dancing moves from the famous music video.

We had some onlookers, but both Rosalie and Alice got me to focus on them, instead of the eyes on us, as soon as they noticed that the appraising looks made me uncomfortable.

"They don't matter," Rosalie said in my ear as she danced behind me, her hips flush with mine as our legs moved in sync. Her hands were on my waist as she guided me, and I could feel the excitement buzzing through her body.

"It's just us," Alice purred into my other ear as she came to dance in front of me. I found myself sandwiched between my two sisters.

They moved around me together, guiding me and never giving confusing directions. I gathered Rosalie decided every move deliberately so Alice could foresee and attune to it, leaving me helpless, laughing as I was moved, held in their iron arms.

Well, they sure had their ways to get rid of my insecurity. They also succeeded in distracting me as we danced, so that at first I didn't even notice Edward coming in with Jasper and Emmett. They found themselves a place along the wall and looked around the room, seemingly taking in possibilities.

Biting my lip to stop myself from walking towards my husband and show him how much I missed him, I kept dancing with my sisters as the music got wilder and we got bolder. We had quite the audience after a while, but all I noticed where Edward's eyes on mine.

And all the while I was careful to not make eye contact with him. I swayed for him, rolling my hips and bringing my hands above my head in delicate, sensual gestures. My hair danced around my face as I moved my head, and I bit my lip and closed my eyes as I let the music take over my body.

As a human I had not been much into music, but as a vampire it was impossible to not completely succumb to the strings of sound that wrapped around you and filled your very soul.

Also, I could dance, and gracefully so, which made it easier to enjoy it all.

"Why Bella, I'm thirsty now," Alice told me after a song had ended. "Won't you fix us some drinks?"

Frowning, but assuming there was a reason she wanted me to go to the bar, I did as I was told. I felt sexy and attractive in my heels and dress, and I swayed my hips to the rhythm of the music as I made my way through the people towards the bar.

I prevented some gropes with not-so-subtle grips on wrists, and finally arrived at the bar, where I had to wait for a bit until it was my turn.

I felt him coming, because every cell in my body was attuned to him. However, I kept my eyes trained forward.

"Hello," a low voice said when the song had ended and there was a quieter moment in the constant noise.

I looked to my left and saw him. Sex hair, burning bright eyes, shirt and leather jacket. Dark jeans that hugged him so deliciously I was jealous of the fabric. His lips were redder than usual, his forearm resting on the edge of the bar, a slender hand hanging off it.

A totally distracting sight.

Swallowing to tame my desire for a bit, I nodded once and looked in front of me again. If my heart still had been beating, it would have been hammering right now. Edward and I never really tried to live out fantasies with role-play like this. I was nervous.

"Are you having fun?" he asked me then.

I looked to my left again, seeing the amused look in his eyes.

"I am," I said, daring a tentative smile and looking forward again, failing purposefully in getting the bartender's attention.

"Excuse me, sir," Edward called as soon as he saw I wasn't getting anywhere near ordering.

As the bartender turned to him, Edward looked at me. "What would you like?"

"Ehm, a Martini," I stammered. "But I'm here with my two friends…"

"Three Martinis," Edward told the bartender decisively. "Keep the change."

Playing innocent, I gaped at him when I saw the amount of money Edward had pressed in the bartender's hands.

"What?" he chuckled. "It's just money. I know more precious things on this earth," he continued, looking deep into my eyes as he spoke.

My breath halted a little. He was going to dazzle the hell out of me tonight. And I was all too willing to be dazzled.

"Where are your friends?" he asked me then, looking around the crowded bar.

I looked around and sought them out, dancing together in fluid movement. Emmett and Jasper were enjoying the show from the sidelines, I noticed. I pointed out Rosalie and Alice to Edward and he smiled when he saw them, before he looked back to me.

"It was a joy to see you dance," he said as the bartender brought our drinks.

"Won't you have anything?" I asked, confused.

"I have… different tastes in life," Edward said vaguely, and something clicked in my head.

Something clenched in my stomach, too. Biting my lip to keep myself under control, I tried to pick up all three Martini glasses at once.

Edward was quick to help me. Too quick.

Startled, I looked as the cocktail glasses where on the bar one moment, and in his hands the other.

"Come, let us find your friends," he invited, and I followed him, looking as if I was not sure what I had just seen.

"What is your name?" I tried as I followed him through the bouncing crowd.

"He stopped and turned. "Edward," he said. "And you are Bella," he continued, looking at me with knowing eyes.

"How did you…" I stuttered, bringing my hands to my face as if I would be blushing.

"You are so beautiful," he purred, "your name could not be any less."

Oh Jesus. He was good at this.

He turned again to find Alice and Rosalie, and when he did it took me a few seconds to emerge from behind him.

Rosalie was taking him in with an eyebrow raised, not accepting the glass, while Alice took hers with both hands and sipped convincingly.

"Rose, Alice? This is Edward," I stammered. "Um, he bought us drinks."

Edward smiled at Rosalie, full vampire charm, and Rosalie finally accepted the glass, still looking suspiciously at Edward. I marveled at how they both played along and had to work to keep the silly grin from my face.

"Did you come alone?" she asked.

"I have brought my brothers," he answered, gesturing to where Jasper and Emmett were looking carefully anywhere but at us.

"Let me get them, so we can get acquainted."

As soon as he turned his back to us, Rosalie hissed in my ear, loud enough so Edward would certainly hear, "I don't trust the guy."

"I do, Rose. You never trust any guy I meet. He spoke to me. He told me I'm a good dancer," I added with an innocent smile, and Rosalie scoffed.

Yeah, I had to admit that this playing was fun.

"You're so easy, Bella," Rosalie frowned, but then her eyes looked over my shoulder as she saw Emmett coming. "My, now that is one fine specimen of a man," she murmured, and I was forgotten as she stepped to him, her hand outstretched.

Alice hooked up with Jasper quickly too, and I found myself face to face with Edward once more.

"It seems that we will have to entertain each other, now that our company is otherwise engaged," he observed, smiling a crooked smile that made my breath come irregularly for a moment.

When a new song started, he extended his hand. "May I have this dance?"

Feeling genuinely nervous as I got lost in my role of innocent girl, I reached out my hand and gasped as he pulled me to him, catching me in his arms as he looked don at me.

"That was unexpected," I grinned as I got my composure back a bit.

"Oh, pretty girl, you haven't seen anything yet," he said confidently, and then he started to move.

Seeing Edward dance always had been an experience that was hard to describe. Dancing _with_ him, was simply beyond words. His arms where strong around me and he guided me to move to the music. My movements were deliberately stiff, however much he tried to coax me into moving with him.

Finally, he lifted my chin with his hands and made me look up at him. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Do you not enjoy dancing with me?"

I wanted to sigh and swoon at the old fashioned cadence in his voice, his words.

"I do," I mumbled, trying to look down but finding I was unable to move out of his grasp. Eyes widening slightly, I caught a wicked look in his eyes before he smoothed his face over and smiled his crooked smile again.

"I'm just shy, I think?"

He grinned at my deliberate use of my human habit to form my insecurities into questions, and he kept his hand under my chin as the other moved to the back of my head.

"You have absolutely no reason to be shy," he said, his lips touching the shell of my ear as he spoke. "I saw you dancing and you are, by far, the most magnificent creature I have ever had the pleasure to lay my eyes on."

"I'm sure that's—" I started, but he interrupted me by pressing his lips to mine.

Startled, my arms hung limp down my body as he kissed me. When he let go, I took a moment to gain coherence and focus back on him again.

He chuckled confidently and he guided my arms to embrace him around his neck as his hands splayed between my shoulder blades and on my lower back.

With little effort, he pulled me forward until I was flush against him and I gasped again. "Now, let us move," he breathed as he looked into my eyes, and I let myself be dazzled as he guided the movements of my body.

His fingers caressed my back ever so slightly as he started to move. While dancing, he nudged his thigh between mine, so he could get closer to me. His hips moved against mine to the overwhelming beat of the music, and I found I was getting lost rapidly in the pounding rhythm as well as in his burning eyes.

Moving with me, his hands started to roam slowly. He pressed my torso against his and as his right hand moved to the nape of my neck, his left traveled downwards to cup my behind.

My gasp was muted as he brought his head forward and nuzzled my neck, inhaling against my skin.

"You smell mighty fine, sweet girl," he whispered against my skin.

"I bought a new perfume," I stuttered, breathless.

"I'm not talking about a perfume," he chuckled darkly, ominous.

I ignored his comment, like any unobservant human would probably do. I could feel his body pressed against mine, and because I knew him so well, I could tell something was growing in his groin. I placed my hands on his chest to get some distance between us.

Immediately, his arms became constricting and he held me against him, moving his head back to look into my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just don't want to go too fast," I stammered, eyes wide.

"Are you in any way uncomfortable?" he asked, moving his lips to my neck where he started to kiss his way down, from the hollow under my ear down to my shoulder.

All the while, he kept moving to the music, and I could do nothing but follow his lead.

"Well, no…" I started, distracted by his lips on my skin, softly sucking now. I suppressed a groan.

"Then we are not going too fast," Edward concluded and I shuddered as the tip of his tongue traced its way back upwards, ending to caress my earlobe.

I couldn't help but tilt my head so as to provide him better access.

"And since I am nowhere near done with you," he continued, his voice low and dripping with something dark I never heard from him before, "we might as well get started."

He nipped my earlobe, then trailed kisses across my cheek towards my mouth.

The kiss was chase, lips on lips, velvet glass on velvet glass. He pulled back and smiled at me, a dark smile that sent a shudder through me again. I didn't know the gleam he had in his eyes.

I didn't know this side of Edward at all.

The music pounded away and one of my favorite songs came on, making me start to move out of my own volition. Edward knew how much I loved this song and while he never fell out of his role, he let me go so I could dance in earnest.

Spinning me around, he stepped up close behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist he moved with me in fluid movements, his hips never breaking contact with mine. His body felt so familiar against mine, yet it was all new, like I had never been this close to him before.

"Bring your hands up," he breathed into my ear, and I did as I was told, clasping my hands behind his head and pulling him closer against me still.

"You are a vision when you dance," he said, and we moved together for endless moments, getting lost in the music and each other.

His hands roamed over my outstretched upper body, hidden by the throng of other dancers as he trailed first along the outer curve of my breasts with the back of his fingers before he simply palmed them, kneading and rubbing in a way that drove me wild.

I let my head rest on his shoulder, closing my eyes as I moved, and groaned softly when his lips found my neck again.

When the song came to an end, he turned me around again and took me once more into his arms, putting his leg between mine again and continuing moving. I squealed in surprise as he dipped me backwards suddenly, his strong hands holding me securely and making sure I wouldn't lose my balance. When I came up to face him again, laughing, he pressed his lips to mine once more, this time slowly tracing my lips with his tongue to seek entrance to my mouth.

"Open up," he purred when I hesitated, and when I let him in and felt the sensation of his tongue on mine, my knees buckled so fiercely that he had to hold me up.

"You taste so sweet," I said, surprised, trying to break away from his mouth but not standing a chance as his eager lips swallowed the rest of my words.

After a moment, he stopped. "Is it not to your liking?" he asked, putting a strand of hair behind my ear and looking into my eyes once more.

"I do like it," I said, unable to break away from his gaze. "It just surprised me, is all."

"I think you will be surprised more this night, sweet girl," he said, and then he suddenly lifted me up from the ground so my face was level with his.

"You're strong," I gasped, breathless.

He chuckled at that, still holding me against his body, showing no sings of strain whatsoever.

"You have seen nothing yet," he promised darkly, and then he started to kiss me again, driving me into oblivion as my feet were still not touching the ground.

We danced for an hour or so, and Edward was doing a good job in dazzling me. He was wrapping me around his finger, complimenting my dress, my hair, my eyes, my figure.

Bodies close to each other, I let myself lose track of time, keeping attuned to Edward and Edward alone. While dancing, he moved me into a darker corner of the bar, unseen by the other dancers.

Placing me between himself and the wall, he pressed his body flush with mine. I gasped in fake surprise as I found myself cornered, and when I made to move away from him, to get back to the dancers again, he pressed closer against me, his elbows on the wall around my face like a cage.

"I don't know if this is such a good idea…" I started, but once more I was interrupted by his searing kisses.

With his thigh he nudged my legs apart and I groaned softly when he pressed his leg up, giving me friction where I needed it most. One hand moved from the wall and disappeared into my hair, pulling my head back sharply for him to gain better access to my mouth.

I give in to his demand, letting my tongue roll against his, exploring his mouth as he did mine.

When he finally let me go, I was gasping for air. He grinned darkly.

"I am not done with you yet," he promised, bringing his lips to my neck once again. He kissed and sucked the skin there, lavishing at the spot where once my blood had been close to my skin.

"You seem to be fond of my neck," I observed, my voice shaking as a result of his ministrations.

"You have no idea," he replied. Then he looked back up at me. "Let's get out of here."

He took my hand in a gentle grip, but did it in such a way that it was clear he would not let me go.

"But, Rose and Alice," I tried.

"They are taken care of," Edward replied. "Come on."

"I don't know," I hesitated, struggling against his hold. "Where are you taking me?"

He moved back to me, once more overwhelming me with his close presence. He tilted my chin up with his fingers again so I was forced to meet his eyes.

"Bella, Bella, Bella," het tutted, shaking his head slowly as he spoke. "Do you not see? I have you now, and I am not going to let you go. You were made for me, sweet girl. Your body as well as your blood."

I gulped, tensing up. "My b- blood?"

Edward looked down at me, a leering smile etched on his face. The look in his eyes was almost unsettling. "Yes, your blood. But don't worry, lovely. I will make sure the experience will be enjoyable for the both of us."

I think some genuine fear might have shown in my eyes.

Edward's hand moved down my legs, just to trace back up again, bringing the fabric of the dress up with his caress, touching my bare skin. Shielded from the other visitors by his body and the dark, his hand trailed upward and inward, until he touched me, _there_.

I bit my lip and groaned, and looked away to hide my reaction to his touch. He chuckled darkly.

'See?" he said confidently. "Come with me, and I will show you heaven."

My eyes opened and found his, and my breath halted as I registered that his eyes had turned black.

"You eyes…" I stuttered.

"Hmm," he replied, skimming my neck with his nose and inhaling. It was such a delicious thing to be able to hear every little detail over the thrum of the music.

"You only have yourself to blame for that. You are delectable," he said lowly in my ear. "And now I am going to ravage you. Come."

Sliding his arm around my waist, effectively keeping me up straight and unable to move away from him, he made quick work of moving to the exit of the bar.

"Wait!" I protested as we were about to step outside. "My coat. And my friends!"

Edward shrugged out of the leather jacket he was wearing and wrapped it around my shoulders. "Your friends will be fine," he said decisively.

He guided me to a back alley, and I stopped at the dead end, looking around.

"Surely not here…?" I asked, uncertain.

He laughed, a happy laugh. "No, my love. Not here."

Within the blink of an eye he had closed the distance between us, and I blinked, confused. "How did you…"

"Never worry about that all," he said as he picked me up like a baby, making me giggle.

"Hold on tight. Close your eyes if you get scared. I will not let you fall."

Now he had me truly anxious. What on earth was he planning to do?

Before I could ask him, he jumped, straight onto the roof of the building we were only just had been standing beside of.

Playing along, I hid my face in his neck and gripped him tight, making him first purr and then chuckle.

Edward carried me through the night, jumping easily over the rooftops, making no sound at all. It was wonderful, so wonderful to be in his arms like this and I almost forgot my role as I got lost in the comfortable safety his arms provided.

I sniffed his neck carefully. "You smell good," I giggled, shy with my admission.

"That is a good sign," he agreed.

He brought me to some kind of warehouse, where I took me to the top floor. It looked old and unused, but when he set me down and let me look around, I saw a nice bed in the corner, a table and some chairs at the window.

It was bare. It was utterly perfect.

"You live here?" I asked, incredulous.

"For now, yes," Edward agreed. He took his coat off my shoulders and I closed my eyes at the sensation of his fingertips grazing my arms.

I walked around the vast space. "It's…" My attention was drawn to the tiny kitchen. I looked into the empty fridge. It wasn't even working.

"You don't have any food here," I whispered, sounding a bit alarmed.

"I don't," he breathed in my ear and I startled at his sudden close proximity.

I turned and looked into his eyes, which were still black as the night.

"Why?" I breathed, getting lost in his intense gaze.

"I don't need food to survive, pretty Bella. I told you as much in the club."

My hand rose to my throat involuntarily.

"Are you a vampire?"

He smiled like the cat that ate the canary. "I am. But you will not find me so horrible. Like I said, I intend to make this experience enjoyable for the both of us."

"What are you going to do?" I asked. Had I still had a pulse, it would be hammering by now.

"I am going to lay you down on that bed," he pointed to the place in the corner of the room, "and then I am going to ravage you."

"Will you hurt me?" I asked, nervously.

He cocked his head and thought for a moment. "That depends to what heights I will be able to bring you, what heights you will allow yourself to be brought to. Why don't we try it?"

Before I could answer, he had picked me up and placed me on the bed, and he was hovering over me, his elbows beside my ears and my wrists locked in one of his hands above my head. Even with my reflexes, he was fast for my perception.

Breathless, I looked up at him. He never broke eye contact as he ripped my dress open slowly with one hand, letting the fabric fall to my sides, exposing my chest.

"My, no underthings," he whispered, awed. "You are a mighty fine woman," he said, and he leaned down to kiss and nip every inch of my now exposed skin, letting my hands go as he moved lower.

"I'm not sure if this is the right thing to do," I gasped, gripping his hair and trying futilely to pull his head up to face me.

"I do," he countered as his hand traced upwards between my legs and touched me there where I needed it the most. My hips bucked off the bed in response and I bit back a groan.

"I would say your body thinks so, too," he chuckled. With a flick of his wrist, all my clothes were gone and he came back up to kiss me once, still fully clothed.

Sitting back, he pulled his shirt over his head and then stood up quickly to get rid of his pants.

I marveled at the sight of him, all rippling muscles, his body taut in his predatory stance.

When he came back, he was all over my body, kissing, rubbing, squeezing, licking and nibbling. He worked me into a frenzy easily and when he put his mouth on me I shattered quickly, hard and chaotic. Before I came down from my orgasm, he entered me in one hard stroke and I gasped, raking my nails across his back to relieve some of the energy that was building immediately again.

He found a merciless rhythm, all the while whispering promises and words of love into my ear, before his lips closed around the lobe and he sucked.

""So good," he breathed. "I just knew you would be this good."

When I felt my climax building up again, I startled as I felt his tongue tracing my neck.

"Don't be afraid," he murmured, never easing his movements, never giving me a chance to reconsider.

"Let go," he coaxed, and when he subtly changed the movements of his hips, hitting me right _there_ every time, my breaths became erratic and I was no longer able to form coherent words.

We both worked towards that peak and I toppled over first, screaming his name as I felt myself uncoil.

And right at that moment, as he followed after me and I was at the height of my own climax, he pressed down his teeth on my neck and bit me.

Hard.


	19. Solving some issues

**A/N Twilight is not mine. *pouts***

_Yeah, you're not imagining it, it's an update! The reviews to the last chapter made me laugh so hard, I'm very glad you all liked my darkerward :D Hope you enjoy this, too. Little lemon, but tying up some loose ends... _

_As always thanks to my beta Sherryola, who corrected some dunglish and who told me this chapter was 'the best so far', which made me squeal.  
_

* * *

We talked for hours afterwards, lying on the bed with tangled limbs, basking in the post-fantasy glow. I took a long time for Edward's eyes to get clear again, and in the reflection of his pitch black irises I saw that mine where not any lighter than his.

He didn't mark me, but only barely. He told me he wasn't sure what I would think about a permanent scar on my neck. I wasn't sure what I thought about that, either. Although the thought of him leaving his mark on me was on the one hand arousing beyond comprehension, on the other hand it would be a very permanent sign and we could never be sure beforehand how visible it would be to human eyes.

His hands traced every curve of my body leisurely as he held me as close to him as he could. He asked me if the night had gone as I had envisioned it. When I said yes, and more even than I ever could have imagined, he confessed that it had been a fantasy of his, too, but that he had been afraid to mention it to me. He was afraid I wouldn't like him as dark as he had been.

I was very thorough in reassuring him how _much_ I liked him this dark.

Half an hour later, when we had calmed down somewhat again, we lay and saw the first grey streaks of dawn through the window.

"You know, when I was still human I fantasized that this would be the way you'd change me."

"What, after seducing you in a club?" Edward asked, purposefully dense.

"No," I laughed. "But I would have liked it more if there had been some degree of planning in it. If we could have chosen the way we wanted it."

"How would you have wanted it," he asked softly, threading his fingers through my hair, "Would you have liked me to do it as we were making love?"

I bit my lip before I answered. "Yeah. I mean, we can't change what happened and I wouldn't want things any differently, but my change was pretty… clinical."

His silence told me he agreed. "It was the best way though, considering the circumstances. Also your change was quicker than usual, which none of us minded."

"True," I agreed. "Still, a girl can dream."

"A sexy vampire fantasy," Edward mused, and I chuckled.

"Indeed. Say, how did you find this place?" I asked, curious.

"It's Emmett's and Rosalie's. They often come here when they need to be alone."

"We should have a place like this, too," I mused. "Like the cottage we had in Forks. I miss our own refuge. I would not want a real house to live in, but maybe we can rent something like this too? To visit when we need a night away from it all?"

Edward nuzzled my ear as he listened to my words. "I like that. I like that a lot."

"Good," I purred. "Because you can sweep me away like this any time."

When the sun was fully up we both became restless, as we knew Ness would be awake soon. Plus, Edward was going to go away for the day with our daughter, so there was a good chance she would be up earlier than usual.

This also meant that Edward and I were going to miss each other for the entire day. Although we both loved that he was going to have a father-daughter day, we were not looking forward to spending so many hours apart.

After making love one more time — quickly, roughly, and entirely dictated by the bond that built the moment our eyes locked — we dressed in the extra sets of clothes that were in a duffle bag by the door and left the place as we had found it.

We walked the streets leisurely, swinging our intertwined hands between us, covered by the shadows of the early morning. Then we drove home in a comfortable silence, content and with secret smiles on our faces after having spent a truly wonderful night.

"I'm going to shower," Edward murmured when we arrived at the house, and he was out of the car, past a very excited looking Alice, before I could blink.

"I didn't look, I swear!" she said, but she was entirely too giddily to not know what had happened the previous night.

I looked at her with narrowed eyes, raking a hand through my tangled hair and getting stuck halfway through.

"Okay I did see _some_ things… But oh my God you were totally hot!"

I looked down to hide the blush that never came. "It was okay," I mumbled, hoping fiercely she wouldn't want me to spill every detail.

"I hope it was more than okay," Rosalie said from behind Alice.

Oh Lord, kill me now.

"We went through enough trouble to get it all arranged for you."

Her voice was hard, but her eyes were sparkling. My face split up in a grin and I rushed to hug them both, thanking them profusely for helping me live this fantasy.

"You should do that more often," Rosalie nodded. "Hell, even _I_ thought predatory Edward was hot."

"Ew, Rose!" Emmett interrupted from somewhere inside the house.

"Child waking up now," Renesmee mumbled from her bedroom, and I breathed a sigh of relief, happy that for now at least, the conversation was over.

I sat on the bed in our room as Edward got dressed, his hair still damp from the shower and sticking out in every possible direction. I was feeling desolate already with the prospect of being without Edward for the entire day, long hunting trip to look forward to or no.

Edward emerged out of the closet again and when he saw my face, he knelt in front of me, between my legs. "I'll be back soon."

The earnest look in his eyes made me chuckle. "I know, I'm just not looking forward to missing you today."

He took my hands in his, gently rubbing his thumbs over my knuckles as he kept looking at me. Finally, he came up on his knees and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips.

It was more than words could ever voice.

I followed Ness and Edward to the garage. Jacob had left the previous night so he could spend more time with his pack. He would be home in time for us to travel to the national park.

Renesmee hugged me quickly and folded her elegant frame into the Ashton Martin, as a day like this certainly warranted the special occasion car. Edward took his time hugging and kissing me goodbye, whispering words of love in my ear until the last possible moment.

Then he got into the car and took off with screeching tires, accompanied by the sound of Renesmee's excited squeal.

I looked out on the road until long after they had left when I heard Alice approach me.

"We are leaving now," she said softly. "Esme wants you. They're going shortly, too."

I nodded, distracted. "And Em and Rose?"

"Well, the bikes arrived yesterday, so Rose is working on them so we can use them tonight. Emmett is keeping her company."

"Emmett is keeping her off her work," Rosalie interjected from their bedroom, and I bit my lip to prevent my laugh coming out.

"Anyway, we're leaving now. You sure you will manage today?"

I looked to my right, where my pixie sister was standing. "I will survive, Alice. I'm not a child. My husband will come home, and I'm pretty sure he won't stray."

"Not after last night he won't!" Emmett piped up from inside the house, and we all laughed.

Alice hugged me and kissed my cheek. "All right. See you tonight!"

She skipped to the door where Jasper emerged, and together they took off into the forest, doing all sorts of… ungodly things I rather not let my thoughts linger on.

I trailed back into the house, finding Esme in the kitchen. Carlisle was behind her, and he looked happier than I had seen him in days.

"Bella, since you are the only one around here today, I want you to get some groceries for Jake, for when we are on our trip. Here is a list of things, it shouldn't be much."

Still more than what an average human would eat in several days, I thought as I checked the list.

"Sure thing, Esme. You know how thrilled I get by a trip to the supermarket."

She chuckled lightly. "Thank you darling. We'll see you tonight."

"Before I forget," Carlisle added as they started to turn to leave, "I think Edward left something for you on the bed."

Curiosity piqued, I raced up the stairs to our bedroom and when I burst through the door, sure enough there was a package on the bed.

I walked towards it and picked it up reverently, and couldn't help but smelling the package for the lingering scent of Edward on it. That in itself would have been gift enough for me.

Carefully undoing the glossy paper the gift was wrapped in, two things fell into my lap: a tiny box and a book. I opened the box and found a charm to add to my bracelet. It was a tiny owl with amber eyes. The body of the animal was laid in with sapphires, consisting of the dark blue color both Edward and I loved so much.

A folded note accompanied the charm:

_To all new learning experiences._

Something told me he wasn't just referring to my first high school loop. I attached the charm to my bracelet and admired the new addition. It fit in perfectly with the rest.

The book I had recognized immediately, but I still smiled when I turned my attention to it. It was a first edition of Wuthering Heights, the book I had thrown into pieces against the wall a while ago when we had been practicing to spend some time apart.

I took my time to shower and blow dry my hair before I chose something comfy to wear. Alice was not around, which to me equaled the opportunity to wear jeans and a hoodie. The lack of reprimanding texts from Alice showed that either she didn't care for once, or she was too preoccupied to berate me.

When I went into the garage to take the Volvo, I saw Rosalie working on the new bikes.

"All going well?" I asked.

Emmett, as usual, was acting as jack. However flighty and easily distracted he sometimes seemed, when he was helping out Rosalie, he could sit still for hours so she could work in peace.

Rosalie nodded, not speaking as she was focused on the bike.

"I'm off to the supermarket," I announced. "Need anything?"

"Just some honey, if you would," Rose answered, and I smiled before I got into the Volvo and took off to town.

It was dry, for a change, and I parked the Volvo in the not-so-deserted parking lot. Keeping the list with me for a human impression, I got a cart and started my route through the supermarket. As I browsed the isles I was reminded of my human days, when I did this every week, first for Renée and Phil, and later for Charlie.

Renée often wanted to come with me, but I refused her when I could. She always wanted to buy luxury food 'just this once', but if I allowed her she would spend a fortune on special occasion food every week.

Smiling to myself, I made my way through the store and got what I needed, occasionally checking my list to see if I had anything. I made a face when I picked up the chicken that was required too, not breathing for the moment to expel the repulsing smell.

"Not fond of raw meet?" an all-too-well-known voice said to my right.

I looked up, straight into the eyes of Patrick O'Neil.

"Mr. O'Neil," I said in greeting, hoping that my smile was sincere enough. "How are you?"

"Bella," he replied. His eyes flitted to the contents of my cart and back to my face. "Call me Patrick. If not in the school, then at least outside."

I nodded, waiting to see what he wanted.

"Are you alone here?" he asked then, looking over my shoulder to see if he could see any others from my family.

"I am," I replied.

"It's quite the cart load you have there," he observed.

I looked at what I had collected so far. Was it really that much? "We have a big family," I replied, wondering if I could leave already.

"So do you always do the groceries?"

I had to fight the urge to not roll my eyes.

"No, sir, but I was the only one able to do it today. The rest of my family had other plans. Normally Esme does the most of it."

"Esme is your mother, right?"

"For all intents and purposes, yes."

Mr. O'Neil smiled at that, a would-be-sympathetic look plastered on his face.

"So where are they all, since you were the only one?"

Oh Lord, digging for information, much?

I shrugged it off. "It's Saturday, the weather is nice. We're going camping later. I don't know where they all are."

Finally, he relented. "I will let you go back to your task at hand. It is nice to see you outside of the school setting," he smiled.

Yeah, I couldn't say that was likewise, though.

He turned and left, but I had a feeling this was far from over.

I finished my groceries and brought them home. Rosalie and Emmett were not in the garage when I pulled in, and I realized soon enough I had interrupted them when I stepped into the house. I knew they were here, but they were keeping quiet, not hiding from me but holding their breath as it were, not wanting to ask but still hoping I would leave again.

"The honey is on the counter," I said softly, knowing they could hear. "I'm off again. See you around five."

I left quickly so they could have the house to themselves again. Driving around town for a while, I didn't really know where to go. My new version of Wuthering Heights was next to me on the chair, and when I finally saw a cozy looking diner I pulled up and decided to stay there for a while. I was already missing Edward so much it hurt, and the day was just over half done.

Rats.

Just before I exited the car, my phone rang. It was Edward's purring I heard and I answered quickly, eager to hear his voice.

"Hi," I breathed, excited.

"Hi." Just his voice, even if it was only a whisper, had me close my eyes in bliss.

"I missed you."

"Me, too."

"Where are you? Are you having fun?"

"We are," his soft voice replied. "Look."

I turned on the video function of the phone and looked at the screen to see Edward had done the same. He smiled into the camera and my heart melted. Then he shifted the direction so I could see his chest, and I saw Renesmee curled up against him.

My heart melted to see them so close. She had often slept on his lap when she was little, but due to a variety of causes this had occurred less and less often. Now she was lying against him, her face completely relaxed, her eyes closed.

"Listen," he breathed, and he moved the phone down more, so I could see just the fabric of the sweater on his chest. Just as I was going to ask what I was supposed to hear, I caught it.

It was a very soft rumbling sound, and it was something I hadn't heard in a very long while. Renesmee was purring, something she never did willfully, but in her sleep could not prevent from happening.

My dead heart soared and the biggest grin appeared on my face as I listened to the sound.

The phone shifted back and I saw Edward's glorious face once more. He just smiled into the camera. "I missed this," he whispered.

"I know," I smiled. "I am happy for you."

"Are you having a good day, too?"

I took a breath but decided against telling Edward about my meeting with Mr. O'Neil. "It's okay. I did some groceries and left the house again to give Rose and Em some privacy. I'm at some diner now, looking forward to read a certain book."

He chuckled. "So you liked it?"

"I _love_ it, Edward. Thank you for the charm, too."

He smiled again, eyes ablaze. "I want to do what we did yesterday more often."

I bit my lip at the promise of his words. "Me too. Maybe I'll start to look into residences. I have to kill some time, it seems."

"Oh yes, please do. Do you have anything in mind?"

"Not yet. I liked the setting we were in yesterday but something less... minimalistic would be nice."

Edward chuckled darkly. "I think you will find that less furniture is better when we have a place for ourselves like that."

I laughed. "Okay, little furniture, sturdy walls. Anything else?"

"You."

"Hmm. I'll have to hang up before I come to track and find you."

"All right. Ness is waking soon, anyway. Love you."

"Love you, too."

When he disconnected, I stayed in the car for a few moments, thinking back to our conversation with a smile on my face. I decided to leave my phone in the car. There was little chance any of my family would call me, since they were all otherwise busy, and I did not want to be tempted to call Edward again. After all, it was his day with Ness and I wanted him to enjoy his time with her.

I grabbed my new book and entered the diner, where I ordered some coffee to keep up appearances. I found myself a nice place in the corner by the window and settled down, opening my book at page one.

About an hour had passed and after skillfully having donned my cold coffee in the big plant near the table, I ordered a new one. It was when the waitress brought the cup to my table when I saw Mr. O'Neil entering the diner.

For the love of… Could this really be happening?

I tried to hide behind my book, but it was too late.

"Bella, what a surprise to see you here!"

Suppressing a groan, I tore my eyes away from my book and looked up at him.

"Are you alone here?"

I looked at my table, where one steaming cup of coffee was waiting. I thought the answer to his question was blatantly obvious.

"Mind if I join you?"

"It's a free country," I replied.

He laughed, mistaking my comment for a joke, and slid into the booth, opposite of me.

"I didn't take you as the person to sit in a diner and read, on her own," he observed, trying to open a conversation.

"I am not often alone, Mr. O'Neil, but when I am, I am rather not home alone."

My answer confused him, but before he could form his next question, the waitress came by our table and asked him what he wanted to drink. After ordering, Mr. O'Neil turned back to me.

Finally, he settled on a question. "Why?"

"The house is too big for me to be alone in it," I shrugged. It was the truth.

"I would have expected to find you here with your brother Edward," Mr. O'Neil volunteered.

I winced when he said 'brother'. It sounded so very, very wrong.

"He's away for the day with Ness, sir," I said, hoping he would leave the topic. Under the table, I touched my wedding bands and thought back to our phone call earlier. I calmed immediately.

"And you weren't invited?" Mr. O'Neil joked, but I could see he was fishing for information.

"I wasn't," I smiled. "But I don't feel left out, if you think so."

I could not believe this conversation was actually happening. I wanted the man to leave.

"Wuthering Heights?" he nodded at my book.

I smiled. "Yes, it's one of my favorites."

"Is this a first edition?" Mr. O'Neil asked, slightly awed.

"It is," I said proudly. "It was a gift from Edward. I had read my old copy so many times the pages came apart."

Mr. O'Neil smiled. "It's rare these days, for youth to read that much."

"I'm addicted to books," I replied. "Reading is my favorite pastime." _After Ravaging Edward and caring for Ness, that is._

The waitress brought Mr. O'Neil's order and he stirred his coffee, thinking. I sensed a change of topic coming.

"Bella, I want to ask you something."

Finally.

"Shoot."

"I have only seen you now for a week, but I am worried about you, about the way your brother treats you."

"Who, Edward?"

"Yes, Edward. The way he looks at you… Are you sure there is nothing you would like to tell me?"

"What are you getting at, Mr. O'Neil?" I asked, defensive. "I have noticed you asking me questions like these all week. I honestly do not know what you are talking about. Please tell me?" Of course I knew very well what he was talking about.

"I can't, Bella. I have some suspicions but I can't word them without risking laying words in your mouth."

I needed to end this. Now. I sat up straighter to fully face him. "Try me," I said.

"That would be out of line." He looked almost pleading.

"Shall I tell you what I think you are thinking?" I volunteered, wanting to get this out of our way.

"Please. Don't get me wrong here, I don't want to make you uncomfortable in any way…"

"You think Edward is abusing me," I said flatly, effectively interrupting him.

He deflated and I knew I was right. Of course I knew, both Edward and Alice had told me so.

"Bella, please. I am not accusing anyone."

"But you think so, don't you?"

He hesitated, sipping his coffee to buy some time.

"Mr. O'Neil, you want my complete honesty in this conversation, but in turn I would like yours, too. If you have any thoughts or suspicions I would like you to address them so I can maybe explain what you think you saw."

"Yes," he replied finally. "Yes. I am afraid that the relationship you have with your brother is cause for concern."

"Please don't call him my brother," I rectified finally. "We do have different biological parents."

"How would you describe the relationship you have with Edward, then?" Mr. O'Neil asked carefully, leaning forward on the table so as to create a more confidential atmosphere.

I had no idea how I could answer this question without giving too much away.

Right at that moment, Emmett burst into the door of the diner. I smelled him before I saw him and I looked up, surprised to see his bulky figure in the door. His hair was dripping wet — it had started to rain again while I was reading.

He looked around, as if he was looking for me, and when he spotted me he beckoned me.

"Excuse me," I told Mr. O'Neil, grateful for the break in this conversation.

Emmett waited until I was near him before he spoke. "Jasper told Rose that Alice wanted to tell you to tell him," he nodded into Mr. O'Neil's direction, "everything."

I couldn't help myself — I laughed. "Then why are _you_ here?"

"Well," Emmett drawled, rolling his eyes, "since Alice wasn't able to… _focus_ on anything else until after she knew this was settled, Jasper called Rose, who tried to call you, like, I don't know, fifteen times, and then she sent me here, as _apparently_ your phone is not with you at the moment."

"God, that's elaborate," I snorted. I looked up at Emmett's frustrated face and cupped his cheek. He jerked his head away in frustration.

"Oh sweetie, I'm sorry," I giggled, "does this cut back your alone time with Rosie?"

"Tomorrow, Swan," he growled, "you will pay for this."

"Ooo, scary," I countered.

"Anyway, everything, apparently, and I hope to God you know what that's about."

"I do," I smiled. "Tell Rose she can have Jasper tell Alice thank you from me."

"Will do," he nodded, then turned to leave.

"Is that your oldest brother?" Mr. O'Neil asked from the booth, making Emmett have to stop in his tracks and turn to him.

"Yes, this is Emmett," I said, "but he was just leaving. Emmett, this is Mr. O'Neil, our homeroom teacher."

Emmett's eyes widened in realization as I introduced the man to him. "Nice to meet you," he said, not approaching him. "I am actually in a hurry, so I won't be able to join you. I apologize."

"That's all right. I thought Bella was alone all day?"

Emmett looked from the teacher to me, then back to the teacher. "We all had our own plans," he smiled, dimples and vampire charm.

Mr. O'Neil beamed back at him, dazzled. He would probably completely forget now that it was more than a bit suspicious that Emmett had found me in this diner to just give me a short message.

Oh, I _had_ to learn that trick sometime.

"Anyway, I am off again," he announced and turned resolutely to walk out the door, back into the rain. He jogged to his Dodge and sped off, anxious to be back with Rose.

I walked back to the booth and slid onto the couch again, facing Mr. O'Neil once more.

"He's quite the charming young man," the teacher observed. "I'd wager he plays baseball or some other form of sport?"

I shook my head. "No, Sir. He will be off to college after this year, so little use for him to join the team."

"Maybe he can join a team at college," Mr. O'Neil mused. "He has the build."

"He might," I said vaguely.

Mr. O'Neil finished his coffee and shifted in his seat, once more leaning forwards to come closer to me. "You haven't answered my question," he said softly.

"What question?"

"How would you describe the relationship you have with your brother Edward?"

"Oh," I smiled, now confident as I could tell the man the truth. "Well, like I said before, he's not my brother, sir. On the contrary, Edward and I are in a romantic relationship. In fact, we are married."

I placed my hand with both rings on the table before me, and I saw Mr. O'Neil's eyes flit towards the sparkling diamonds before he looked at me again.

"Married?"

"Indeed, sir. We were married in Alaska and Carlisle and Esme gave their parental consent."

Mr. O'Neil swallowed. "They gave their consent."

"They did. There's no denying the love that Edward and I share. He's not abusive in any way, sir, he's just protective and he often looks fiercer maybe than he actually means to."

"Aren't you very young to be married?"

Oh dear, he was stuck, like a broken record.

"We don't think so, sir, and neither do Carlisle and Esme otherwise they never would have given their consent."

Mr. O'Neil opened his mouth to say something, then reconsidered, and finally started to speak. "Are you happy with him, Bella?"

I did not need to think about that answer. "I am, Patrick. I truly am. He's my universe, and I am his. I love him with all my heart and I would give my life for him, and I know he would do the same for me."

"You sound strong in your conviction," he smiled.

"It's because I am," I shrugged. "Nothing can come in between us. Not even irritating girls," I added in a mutter, but he heard me anyway.

"Dana?"

"You noticed?" Damn, he _was_ observant.

"I noticed. She seems quite taken with… your husband." He hesitated to use the term. It must sound alien to him.

I chuckled. "Just call him Edward. And yes, she is. And she doesn't know when to stop."

"She has quite the reputation," Mr. O'Neil confided. "But tell me please, Bella. I have seen you upset with Edward several times over the last week. This bothers me."

I looked down at my now cold coffee. How to tell him what I had been upset about? Surely Alice could not have meant this when she wanted me to tell Mr. O'Neil _everything_.

"It's a new life we start here," I finally said. "And I'm not fond of changes."

"Yes, it must be a big step for all of you to move to another state."

"We've done it before," I replied, looking up in Mr. O'Neil's eyes again. "Edward is only ever supporting and helping me. He knows how much I hate it all."

The teacher was quiet for a moment. "You know," he said slowly, smiling a half smile I didn't really know others could have too, besides Edward, "sometimes you sound so much older than you really are."

I giggled at that, effectively negating O'Neil's claim. "My m… Esme always told me I was born middle-aged, and that I would grow older from there."

Mr. O'Neil laughed at that. "She might just be right." He sat back and thought for a moment. "Have you considered your future, Bella? You live in the same house as Edward now, but what when you will go to college? What if he wants different things than you do?"

I smiled, the secret smile of a woman that knows she is well loved indeed. "We will go someplace where we both can study what we want. We haven't really decided yet what we will do."

"So long as you don't let your marriage dictate your choices. You have your whole life ahead of you and you have to live it the way _you_ want it to."

I met his eyes. "I know. And I thank you for your concern, but I want to assure you that it is unnecessary. Edward and I love each other. We live our lives together and make our decisions together. Edward and I are in a completely balanced relationship. Do you think Carlisle and Esme would allow it if they saw I was unhappy?"

"I have not met them yet, but I'd have to say 'no,'" Mr. O'Neil smiled. "I am sorry Bella. I think I was wrong in my first assessment. Thank you for talking with me about this."

"It's okay."

"I just want to explain to you that it is my job to signal signs of whatever form of unhappiness my students can have, and because you were new in my class, of course I paid extra attention to you. I am sorry I interpreted the signs wrongly. I hope you will not hold my first judgment against me."

"I won't, don't worry," I smiled at him. "I am glad we worked this out. If you are okay with this, I'd like to go home now. I think my family is due to arrive soon and we are going away to hike."

"Ah yes," Mr. O'Neil remembered. "You are going to be away on Monday, too. Well, have fun. But, Bella? If I can give you one advice… Although I do not worry about your intellect, I would advise you to skip fewer classes from now on. School is not a voluntary activity, you know."

If I could have blushed, I would. Instead, I looked down and bit my lip. "I am sorry," I apologized. "Let's say it is the newness of this all and the time it takes to get used to our new environment."

"Yes, let's," Mr. O'Neil agreed, smiling knowingly. "I'll leave you to your Saturday now. Thank you again and have a nice trip."

I nodded at him, pulled some money out of my purse that was enough to pay for both his coffees and mine, and got up.

"Have a nice weekend, Mr. O'Neil," I smiled down at him. Then I exited the diner, happy to be away from the nosy teacher but happy to have sorted this out, as well.

* * *

_So, that's one less thing to worry about! Leave me some thoughts?  
_


	20. Starting the hunt

**A/N Twilight belongs to a woman who had a dream and became filthy rich because of it.**

_Hi all, thanks for reading and reviewing this tiny fic. :) I've another update for you. Those that know me on twitter know what my RL has been like over the last weeks, but for those that don't: I've been in a car accident in March and as it turns out I didn't come out unscathed. In short: I'm in pain. It kills the writing itch. I'm sorry. _

_Thanks to Sherryola, my beta and my wonderful, wonderful friend. What would I do without you?_

_I hope you will still enjoy my story. I'm sorry I don't update quicker. I will NOT abandon it however, even though I've been told it's bland and contains plot holes. I still love to write it :)_

_So here you go, a hunting weekend. High school dramas will pick up again in the next chapter. Enjoy!  
_

* * *

"Are we all ready?" Carlisle asked as he zipped up his leather motor jacket.

"I think we are," Emmett replied, picking up his helmet from his bike.

"I still think we should wait for Jake," Renesmee pouted. "He said he would try to make it."

"He also said that if he didn't, we should go and he would catch up with us."

"No need to," Jake's voice came from outside. "If you have two minutes I'll get dressed and we can all leave together."

"Yay!" Ness squealed, clapping her hands and smiling so brightly I smiled in return.

She was still glowing after her day out with her dad. Edward looked beyond content too, his face as relaxed as I had ever seen it, his eyes sparkling and a tiny happy smile constantly on his face.

When they got back from their day out, I had heard the car approaching from miles away and I had sprinted outside to see them coming, bouncing from one leg to the other impatiently, eager to see my husband again.

It seemed he had been out of the car before it had fully stopped, and when he crashed into me to take me in his arms and kiss me into incoherency, the thundering sound of our bodies colliding had resonated through the woods.

"Um, yeah, I'll tell you about our day later then," Ness had chuckled and then she had gone inside to see Alice.

Now we were all ready to go, and damned if Edward didn't look dangerously hot in his biking attire. All the men looked hot, if I was honest, and regarding the way the men watched their women, I should think the sentiments went both ways.

We all mounted our respective bikes, when Renesmee asked if she could drive one.

"No," I said at the same moment Edward replied with "absolutely not."

Jake looked at me with an amused look on his face, but I shot him some daggers, daring him to defy me.

"Just choose one to drive with," I said, and of course I shouldn't have been surprised that she hopped on behind Jacob, sliding her tender arms securely around his waist.

We all got our helmets on — keeping up appearances as ever — and left in the early evening, at top speed, to the national park.

We chatted off and on during the journey, stopping for gas only when we needed to. Jake needed to stop then for a human moment, as he called it, which made me nearly fall of my bike I laughed so hard.

Jake needed food too, and so we all waited as he inhaled some of the chicken that Esme had prepared for him that afternoon.

Jasper and Emmett were bored as they walked around a little, and from the look on Edward's face I could tell they were up to something.

"No, you'll rip your suits," Alice then interrupted.

Emmett, faking annoyance, stormed into Alice's direction in an attempt to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder.

Alice dodged him neatly, of course, and Emmett changed course without hesitation, going for Ness instead.

She squealed in surprise and made a run for it, but Emmett was quicker and he attacked her from behind, holding her tight as he tickled her sides mercilessly. She giggled and squirmed, unable to get free from his hold, begging him to stop. We all stood as audience, Jake obviously torn between interrupting or letting it play out, as he was still chewing on his meal.

Then finally, she had enough and she put some real force into her endeavors, effectively getting away from him. She was still panting as she turned to smile at him, and Emmett smiled down at her, his dimples for once not meant to dazzle, but to beam.

"All right, let's get this show on the road again," Carlise announced when Jacob was done eating.

He kick-started his bike and I did the same as the others got on their vehicles again too. We left into the night and as soon as we left the last trail of civilization behind, we donned our headlights and sped through the dark at a speed that brought a wicked smile to all of our faces indeed.

We talked a lot through the built in transmission system in our helmets. Renesmee gushed to me about her day out with daddy, and she made me laugh when she talked about eating ice cream, describing Edward's face in response to dairy so accurately we all chuckled.

We spoke about our week. Carlisle told us how things were in the hospital, how he liked it here. Esme told us that she had met some people in town and that they were pleasant enough. We chatted about school, about how Ness and Jake liked going to high school, about our class mates.

When Dana's name was mentioned, Rosalie growled so loudly I could hear it without the communication system.

"We are away from Dana right now. As such we do not need to talk about Dana right now."

"I like your logic," I agreed.

"Hey, do you know who I Googled today?" Emmett then piped up?

"M—" Alice started.

"Not you, psychic," Emmett interrupted. "Guess?"

"Oh no," Edward groaned.

"Who?" I asked, curiosity piqued.

"Mike Newton," Emmett said smugly.

"Mike Newton? By God, Emmett, I thought you were better than that," I moaned. "Seriously, Michael Newton?"

"The one and only," he said smugly. "There's a lot of him to be found on the internet. He still lives in Forks, apparently he's first employee at his parent's store. He's proud of that, too."

"Figures," Rosalie snickered. "I'm surprised he even made it that far."

"And guess who he's married to?" Emmett continued.

"Not Jess, right? They split up in senior year," I tried to remember through foggy images.

"The one and only," Emmett repeated. "Apparently she's pregnant for the second time."

"Whoa," Alice breathed. "Poor kids."

"Yes, even you can say that and it's still believable," Rose said.

"Aw, come on, was she really that bad?" Esme joined the conversation.

"She was really that bad," Edward agreed.

"She was worse than the two of you together," Jasper added.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him."

I blinked at Alice's words, said in some sort of mimicking tone, which sounded frighteningly familiar.

Edward sat up on his bike and threw his head back to laugh. "The poor girl," he said when he was finally able to speak again. "What she would have given to spend a night with me."

'Were those Jessica's words?" I asked, still searching my hazy memory.

"Yes, those were Jessica's exact words when she introduced Edward to you. God, was she jealous of you when he looked at you."

"I was angry with him," I smiled in remembrance. "I didn't know what I had done wrong to make him look at me like that."

"Ah, the glory of meeting one's singer, who happens to be one's mate, too," Jasper sighed wistfully. "I must say Edward, I have never envied you, and especially not in those months. Sweet Lord, such torture."

"It was worth every second," Edward said simply.

"I would have liked to see that," Renesmee said. "Daddy trying his hardest not to give in."

"It wasn't just bloodlust," Emmett said wickedly.

Without hesitation, Rosalie pulled up next to him, so close that she could smack the back of his head through his helmet.

"Hey!"

"I agree with Rose," I said. "No innuendo around Ness, Emmett. We've talked about this."

"I think it's hilarious how you try to protect me. It's not like I don't know anything."

"But you don't know _everything_ and we like to keep it that way," Edward replied.

Renesmee huffed, and Carlilse cut off our conversation to announce that up ahead, we were to change lanes.

We arrived at the national park in the early morning, and set up camp should we encounter humans. Alice had assured us however that we wouldn't.

Eager to go, we divided into pairs and marked territories. Then we said our goodbyes and sped off into our own directions.

Edward and I went south, Edward dropping the duffel bag with spare clothes a couple of miles into our run. We chased each other through the woods, skirting trees and each other. I was after Edward when we both stopped in our tracks, distracted by an alluring scent. Our heads whipped into the same direction, and we let each other go simultaneously, as in a well-choreographed dance, as we crouched and set off into the direction of the scent.

We found the mountain lions quickly, alarming them with our speed. They crouched into a defensive pose, but of course they were no match for us. From the corner of my eye, I saw how Edward was keeping his lion at bay while he watched me preying on mine, walking around it and waiting for the right moment to jump.

I was all instinct in that moment, forgetting all around me as I hunted. The cat apparently thought I was leaving it too long and pounced me. I let myself fall back so the beast fell on top of me, then rolled around so I had it pinned underneath my body.

It made alarmed sounds, surprised at my speed and strength, but I made quick work of snapping its neck before I sank down my teeth into the delicious heat.

Over my prey I could see Edward watching me, his eyes pitch black as he waited for me to finish feeding. The lion whose mate was now killed lunged at Edward, but he pushed it away distractedly as he watched me feed.

I sucked the animal dry, a low rumble emanating from my chest almost continuously as I massaged the animal to get out even more blood.

When I was done I got up, making to wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, but before I knew it, Edward had pushed me back against a tree so hard the tree almost gave way.

Pressed between his body and the wood, I saw the wild look in my husband's eyes. He cupped my head, tangling his hands in my hair, before he leaned forward and licked the last traces of blood from my mouth. He was growling, a constant low rumbling that sounded downright dangerous, but I knew better than that.

The man was just wildly turned on.

Then he kissed me, his tongue invading my mouth as he all but devoured me and I whimpered, my insides melting at seeing Edward so unhinged.

He made short work of my pants and ripped his own jeans in his haste to get them off. I lifted my legs around his waist and then he was inside me in one swift movement. We both stilled for a moment at the all-overwhelming sensation, but then he started to move and we both made no effort at all to hold our sounds back this time.

It was quick and rough and we both were grinning when we got a fresh pair of jeans from the duffel bag, noticing that there were several more new outfits in there.

"I sometimes wonder if she will ever get enough of what she sees," I mused as I pulled some tree bark from my hair.

"Nah," Edward replied, distracted as another scent had caught our interest, "not as long as she gets some inspiration from it, she won't."

And then he was off, leaving me gaping at his answer.

I followed him at a safe distance, knowing it was dangerous, even for mates, to chase a hunting vampire. When I caught up with him, he had just felled a grizzly bear. Noticing me, he reached out an arm to beckon me.

I was a little surprised — he didn't do this often. But I approached him, carefully, until I could slide in between him and the bear. Edward spooned me from behind, never stopping drinking, and wrapped one strong arm around me to hold me against him. I latched on to the animal too and closed my eyes as we both drank, and all the while I enjoyed the sound of his deep purr reverberating against my back.

Edward pressed his hips against mine rhythmically, in time almost with the rhythm of his sucking. His free hand wandered, pulling me back against him and cupping my breast to massage it.

Hunting was simply erotic. I fleetingly wondered why we simply didn't do it more often.

When we were done, we pushed the beast away and lay together for a long time, basking in the post-hunting glow. Edward's arms were tightly around me and every once in a while, he kissed my neck, my hair, my shoulder, until I turned to him and we made love on the leafy ground, slowly, with tangled limbs and lazy kisses.

Afterwards, Edward caught one more bear and this time he fed alone, needing the blood for himself to be somewhat satisfied.

We backtracked to bury the animals and then walked through the thick forest for hours, talking about everything and anything, laughing and reminiscing. We carefully evaded talking about Dana, realizing that she was a problem that wouldn't go away and it didn't help to talk about it.

We could either be strong and not let our lives be influenced that much by her, or move. We all preferred the first option, especially since right now, exposure was not yet a real risk.

"Oh," I remembered then, "I ran into Patrick O'Neil yesterday."

Edward stopped walking to look at me. "You did? Alice didn't say anything."

"Perhaps she wanted me to tell it myself. I met him in the supermarket first and later in the diner."

"Really? What are the odds."

"That's what I thought," I smiled. "I was killing time in the diner, reading my new copy of Wuthering Heights," I paused to press a kiss to his chin in thanks, "when he entered."

"How was he?" Edward asked, his face tense. I knew he wasn't referring to O'Neil's well being.

"Inquiring," I winced. "But he finally voiced his concern and then Emmett came to tell me that I could tell O'Neil everything, so—"

"Whoah, stop," Edward interrupted me. "_Emmett_ came to tell you…?"

"Yeah, he did. He told me that Alice had seen my meeting and what I should do and she couldn't really focus anymore until I knew, so Jasper was annoyed and called Rose, who tried to call me. Rose couldn't reach me as I left my phone in the car, and since she didn't want to leave the bikes, she sent Emmett my way."

"That's… elaborate," my husband replied, scratching his head.

I laughed. "That's what I said. But, Alice saw it was safe to tell O'Neil everything, so that's what I did. I told him we were married and I assured him you were good for me. He has noticed that Dana has noticed you."

"He did? So the man does see some things right. What else did he say?"

"Not much. Some speech about making my own choices when we go to college, and the advice to skip fewer classes."

Edward threw his head back to laugh. "Yeah, we might have gone overboard with that." Then he pulled me flush against him and bent his head to kiss me. "I'm sorry for stealing you away, Mrs. Cullen."

"You can take me anytime, Mr. Cullen," I replied. "It's not considered stealing if I come along willingly."

"Indeed, you are right," he murmured, his hands snaking under my top to touch the skin.

I shuddered delightfully at his ministrations and leaned into him, folding myself against his body. We made love until the sunset, and then we went back to the main camp.

Since Ness and Jake needed to catch some sleep, even though they themselves claimed they didn't, Alice and Jasper and Edward and I stayed at the camp that night. Rose and Em were away as soon as they could without being impolite, as were Carlisle and Esme. I couldn't blame them. Being apart for such long periods of time was hard for us all and we all wanted to make up for that lost time.

We built a big campfire and sat around it as we talked. Ness and Edward relayed their day to us, Ness holding my hand and Alice's to show us what she was saying.

Jacob had hunted to the point of gluttony, so he didn't need regular food to top it off. Ness had a lovely blush on her cheeks after her hunt, and she was positively glowing. I guess we all were looking radiant after such a glorious day.

When the witching hour struck, I kissed Ness good night and saw how she got into the tent with Jake. Since they weren't going to be alone that night, we had agreed on letting them share a tent.

Of course we heard how they slipped into the same sleeping bag together, but we tuned them out and focused on our own conversation. We spent a good while digging up our most mortifying or funny memories, laughing at stupidities and mistakes. We talked about the future too, and we all came to realize that I still had no real concept of the term forever.

"One day at a time," I smiled. "As long as I have you all, and Edward and Ness, I'm beyond happy."

"That's what matters," Edward replied softly, kissing my temple sweetly.

When the sun rose that Monday morning, it really rose. The skies were pretty clear and when the first rays of dawn caught our skin, we were all shimmering like polished marble.

Edward, who had once told me that he hated this trait of his vampire body, was now looking at me in undisguised awe and adoration. When he had seen me in the sun the first time, he had finally understood why I'd found him all the more beautiful when sunlight reflected off his skin.

Ness appeared from her tent, crying real tears in suppressed laughter and trying fruitlessly to hold back her giggle fit.

"What?" Alice asked, and I realized it must have been about Jake, else she would have known what was going on.

And then Jake emerged from his tent, clad in just a towel.

"The fuck…?" I gaped at him. "Is this some new fashion or something?"

Jake blushed and looked down as he rubbed his neck. "It's less trouble. I'm going to phase in a moment, so why bother to dress?"

I could hardly disagree with that, but I _was_ worried how much Renesmee had seen. I looked at Edward and he shook his head minutely, answering my unspoken question.

"Anyway, good day y'all," Jake saluted, and then he disappeared behind the trees. He was back moments later in wolf form.

God, the smell was overwhelmingly repulsive and I had to fight to not scrunch my nose.

Ness darted over to him and hugged him fiercely, then simply hopped on his back.

"See you at sunset?" she asked us.

"A little before that," Jasper said. "Else we won't be home in time for school tomorrow."

"Blah," Renesmee shrugged. "Okay, see you later!"

We watched her retreating figure on Jake's back, all smiling fondly.

We had come such a long way.

"God, I missed this," Jasper said, needlessly stretching.

"What, Jake leaving?" I joked, and we all chuckled.

"That, too," Jasper conceded. "But I mean more in terms of all of us being relaxed like this. I didn't realize how much of a weight that Dana girl has put on all of us until it was lifted again."

"We need to deal with her," Edward said. "I don't know how yet, and I know Alice doesn't, either. But I would prefer if we could set things straight this week, and in a way so that we don't have to move, preferably."

"All rules are out of the window," Alice said after a moment of thinking. "We'll have to deal with it as it comes."

We nodded solemnly, before Jasper rubbed his hands, ending the serious conversation.

"I've been promised a day of hunting and the fulfillment of other desires," he announced. "I am going to whisk my wife away now."

"By all means," Edward laughed, before he picked me up at lightening speed and swung me over his shoulder, ignoring my laughing protests.

"Bye!" I managed to get out as Edward started running, and I heard Alice's squeal in response.

Edward didn't let me down for a while, and when I swatted his ass in annoyance, he repaid me in kind.

When he finally let me down, we were at a pond. It was cold outside, but to us it wouldn't matter.

"Do you want to?" Edward asked, nodding towards the water.

I nodded eagerly, already starting to take off my clothes.

We spent a good few hours in the water, chasing the other with our heads both below and above the surface. Edward threw me up in the air and I felt like I was flying before I hit the water again with a loud splash. We made love in a variety of ways, which didn't all involve both heads being above the water all the time.

We liked water, we couldn't help it.

We spent the rest of the day hunting and making love, and then with a pang of sadness to end the weekend, but a feeling of joy to be reunited with our family again, went back to break up camp.

"This was lovely," Renesmee said, her eyes sparkling. "So _normal_, you know?"

We all smiled at her, understanding very well what she meant.

When we cleared the camp and ran back to our bikes, the air had become noticeably colder.

"There's snow coming," Alice said as we reached our bikes. "It will be very slippery on the road."

"Will we be home in time for school?" I asked.

Alice's eyes glazed over for a moment. "Yes. But no time for Ness or Jake to sleep."

"I can stay awake, it's no problem," Jacob answered. "And I think Ness can sleep against my back on the bike. She won't fall."

I didn't like the idea, but there was no other option than to go with it.

We set off into the twilight. Snow had started to fall indeed and we could all tell that the road was slippery. We were driving carefully, until of course Emmett decided to act like the goof he was and tried to pull off some stunt in the middle of the snow-soaked road.

"Emmett, no!" Alice shouted, followed shortly by Rosalie as Emmett did a wheelie, lost his grip on the asphalt, started to sway and finally lost his balance.

He fell down on the asphalt with a sickening thwack, his bike spinning off onto the shoulder of the road. Emmett kept on rolling and tumbling over the road; unable to come to a halt due to the speed of the bike he had been on.

We stopped immediately, shocked to our cores, and Rosalie was off her bike in an instant, flinging her helmet away and kneeling at Emmet's side. Esme followed suit and soon we were all around him, worried sick.

Emmett, of course, was unscathed. He sat up, a bit dazed after his fall, but he collected himself swiftly and smiled up at us, dimples and all.

Which was Ness's clue to smack him in the back of his head. "Twat," she swore. "Don't scare us like that!"

He looked appropriately petulant and apologized. The words weren't out of his mouth yet, and Rose followed Ness's example. "Idiot," she seethed. "Leave it up to you to _fall_ from a _bike_. Shit!"

"Hey," Emmett tried to placate her. "I'm sorry, I really didn't think this would happen."

"Well, the bike is ready for the scrap heap," Jasper observed as he came walking over. "As are your clothes."

It was true — Emmett's biker suit showed how hard his fall really had been.

Carlisle stepped up then, insisting that he checked Emmett for any damage.

"Really, Carlisle?" Emmett asked as Carlisle felt along his scalp with able fingertips. He tried to jerk his head away, but finally gave in and sat still as he was examined.

"Yes, really. You have no idea how hard you fell, did you?"

"I did, actually. It was kinda cool," he grinned.

Nobody joined him.

"Well, it seems we have one bike less now," Alice observed after she had looked at Emmett closely to make sure he was all right.

"I'll go with Edward," I offered. "Emmett can take my bike."

I just wanted to be close to my husband.

We all agreed and after depositing the ruined bike a little ways off the road, making plans to collect it later, I hopped on behind Edward and we were off again.

After an hour or so, I looked to my left and saw that Renesmee had indeed fallen asleep, still holding on tight to Jake as she rested her helmeted head against his broad back. I smiled fondly and nudged Edward so he would see too.

Then I simply climbed around Edward, ignoring his warnings as I was doing acrobatics on a bike moving at full speed, much like Emmett had done earlier, and maneuvered myself so that I was facing him, my legs straddling his hips.

I hugged him fiercely and heard his approving hum, even though it was so very low the communication system in our helmets didn't pick it up.

Then I lay back on the tank of the bike, my legs hugging his waist. He was looking down at me more than he was looking at the road, his eyes crystal clear even through the tanned visors of our helmets.

I smiled at him, and he smiled back at me, which I could only tell by the way his eyes narrowed pleasantly.

"Channel five, Bella?" he then asked softly, referring to the communication system we were using.

"Ooh, you want privacy now?" Emmett joked.

"Shut up," I muttered, switching to the right channel and blocking Emmett's taunting out.

Edward, who had apparently hooked up his iPod to the communication system, started a song that only the two of us could hear. And then he sang to me, a song I didn't know well, but which I loved because it was plain lovely.

And Edward's voice when he sang was of course… well, beyond lovely, to be honest.

I basked in his attention on our way home. When we reached civilization again, Carlisle advised I would take on a more appropriate position on the bike, sitting behind Edward again.

We did our very best to not race the last bit home as the first streaks of dawn were starting to light up the sky again.

We pulled up in the garage, parked our bikes, and walked leisurely towards the house.

That is, until we heard Rosalie's screech.

"_Are you fucking _kidding_ me?_"

* * *

_Edward sang "Her Eyes" by Pat Monahan for Bella. _

_What would you say perhaps to shorter chapters - quicker updates?_

_Sorry for the cliffy, but it kind of forces me to write more ;) Thanks for reading!  
_


	21. Stress

**A/N Twilight is not mine. **

_Hello all :) Sorry to have left you hanging for so long. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm not happy with this chapter but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. I was planning to write a long note here, but I'm not going to. I just want to say, I **do** update when I can, I **do not** have 10 chapters up my sleeve, and yes I update Torn more often than this one. So is._

_As ever thanks to Sherryola for pulling me through this. You know why, honey._

* * *

We all hurried to where we heard Rose's voice and there she stood, a good few feet away from what looked like a stuffed animal sitting against the porch door. Attached to it was a pink envelope with hearts drawn on it, the name _Edward_ written on the front in curly letters.

We all halted and looked at the bear, confused, upset, and beyond pissed.

And then I smelled it. I looked up at Edward in utter confusion and disgust just as he looked over to me, his brows raised and his eyes wide.

"What did she do?" Jasper murmured, aghast.

"More importantly, what did she do _with_ it," Emmett rumbled angrily. "Fucking hell."

"Did she actually…" Ness started.

"She actually did," Jacob replied for her. "God, that's so disgusting."

We stood looking at the stuffed animal like it would jump up and bite us. The scent emanating from the thing was something I had hoped never to have to smell in my entire life. It was clear Dana had rubbed it in between her legs before she left it here.

Thinking, probably, that we would never notice it as she left her mark on her gift to _my_ husband.

It was Esme who came into action before either of us could do anything. She stepped forward without hesitation and kicked the bear off the porch with force. Then she leapt after it and landed next to it before it hit the ground. She produced a lighter from her jacket pocket and without blinking, set the animal on fire.

When the flames caught, providing thick black smoke as the plastic burned, she stepped back.

"Nobody pollutes _my_ porch like that," she said so quietly I could barely hear it.

Around me, we were all equally surprised. Emmett broke our stupor by cheering loudly and clapping his hands. "Way to go mom!"

Esme looked up, a proud smirk tugging on the corner of her mouth. She wiped her hands as if to clean them, then leapt back up to the porch with us in a lithe, graceful movement.

I smiled. Esme rarely gave in to her vampiric urges like that at home and it was nice to see her doing so.

"Good riddance," she announced as Carlisle walked up to her and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"You didn't see this coming?" Jacob asked Alice.

She turned to look up at him with one eyebrow raised. "You think I was keeping an eye on Dana last weekend? Believe you me, I had much better things to do."

Jacob huffed as we laughed. Of course Alice would not have foreseen this and even if she had, nothing dangerous happened. It's not like we would have done anything to prevent it.

"All right, let's get ready for the day," Carlisle announced. "Unless you want to talk about this?"

Edward shrugged, I shook my head. Nobody felt the need to discuss what Dana had done. It would not get us anywhere nearer to a solution, although I did strengthen my resolve to be very clear with Dana should the situation arise.

We took turns to shower quickly and Edward and I lay on the bed for a moment after while we waited for the rest of the house to get ready for the day.

"I can't believe Dana did that," Edward mused, his fingertips tracing every dip and curve of my bare back as I lay on my stomach beside him.

"After all that happened, I wouldn't put it past her anymore, but, you know, ew."

"I'm actually glad I will never know what she wrote in that letter."

I chuckled softly. "Esme took care of that efficiently enough."

Edward smiled and leaned in to press a kiss to my shoulder. "Sometimes she truly acts like a mom."

I turned so I could face my mate. "What will we do, Edward? What happened now only shows she's not going to stop."

Edward sighed, a hand traveling to his hair and tugging it. "I know. Just ignore her, I guess."

"Maybe you should tell her that you didn't like the gift."

"I was thinking of not referring to it at all. That way she won't get the satisfaction of me giving her attention."

"Wouldn't it be better to just tell her to stop her games?"

"Do you think she would listen to that?"

I frowned at his question. Of course she wouldn't. We had been clear with her before. In fact, she _knew_ we were together, and it hadn't helped. If anything, it seemed to have fueled her determination.

"Maybe you should scare her off, like you did with Dennis," I offered.

"Actually, I went through that possibility with Alice. But Dana is too perceptive for that. And truly, we don't want to go down _that_ road."

Now it was my turn to sigh. "If you don't tell her to back off, Edward, I will."

"How do you think it looks when you are the one telling Dana to stay away from him?" Alice asked from her room.

Stupid vampire hearing.

"I don't care how it looks," I replied. "If we want this high school thing to be even remotely fun, I say we stop waiting and start to act. The sooner we get this over with, the better."

"Give Edward the chance to stand up for himself, first," Alice said softly. "There's a good chance she'll get the message sooner or later."

_A good chance_, I huffed to myself. I was done with chances. I was done with subtle, too.

Dana thought the same apparently, as she bounced up to Edward the moment I left his side to give Renesmee some attention during first break at school.

I growled reflexively, and surprisingly it was Jake who placed his hand on my lower back to calm me down.

"Hi Edward! Where have you been? I missed you."

"I've been away," Edward replied curtly.

"Away where? Gee, you're not very talkative."

_That's because I don't like to talk to you_, I answered for Edward with lowered shield. I could tell he heard me, but he ignored it all the same.

Instead, he shrugged, which in Edward's book was rude enough.

"Well, _my_ weekend was fabulous, since you asked," Dana continued, undisturbed but a bit sarcastic. "I went to this crazy party last Saturday, but it wasn't really complete of course because you weren't there."

"Too bad," Emmett grumbled.

I felt for Edward. What was he supposed to reply to her?

Luckily the bell rang just then, and Edward simply nodded to Dana before he walked away brusquely to Study Hall.

Today would be a relatively short day. We sat through the first period of Study Hall like good students, doing homework and for once not Truth or Daring like our lives depended on it. We were all happy and quiet after a weekend of hunting, our anxiety eased significantly. We agreed on hunting more often, as it felt like we could handle Dana-induced stress better as well when we were properly fed.

"She's purposefully not letting us know we're together," Edward whispered without looking up from his book. "But I don't know how long she will be able to keep it up. She's getting desperate."

In the second period of Study Hall, Rose, Em, Ness and Jake joined us and it wasn't long before we heard Dana and Jodi approaching, too. Of course.

We all made a point of ignoring her and fortunately, for once they did not join us at our table.

I turned to Ness, who had a worried look in her eyes.

"What's wrong honey, are you nervous about the audition results?" At lunch, the list of names that made it into the cheerleading squad would be published.

"No," she frowned.

"Then what is it? I coaxed. I noticed Jacob was tense, too.

Ness didn't speak, but simply put her hand in mine and showed me what had happened in class that morning. The teacher had complimented her on her work for Math and had suggested that he would propose her going to a more advanced class, so she would have more of a challenge in her work.

Ness had declined, but the teacher had persisted.

"I don't want to be away from Jake," she whispered, worried, and then looked up to Edward, who had been listening in.

"Don't worry about that," Edward said softly. "They can't put you in another class without your parent's permission."

I realized we would have to talk with Carlisle and Esme about this, in case they were called for a meeting at school. It stung more than a little bit that Edward and I would not be able to act as Ness's parents in this case.

"Nothing will happen this week, at any rate," Alice said reassuringly. "And Ness, if you don't want to be in another class, you won't have to. It really is that simple."

Ness smiled, assured, and turned from me to help Jake with his homework.

Of course Dana wandered over to our table before the hour had ended.

"So, Edward," she started, and I rolled my eyes, "did you perhaps find a certain gift on your porch yesterday?"

Edward acted the part of being confused very well. Around me, my siblings looked up to see the show.

"Gift?" Edward asked.

"Yes, a teddy bear?"

I noticed with glee that she sounded a tiny bit less certain of herself.

Edward thought for a long moment, his brows furrowing in confusion. Then his face lit up. "You mean that rag that was by the door? Oh my, was that you? We thought perhaps a stray dog left it there, as it smelled so repulsive, so my mom burned it."

The image of a Dana lost for words was a glorious sight to behold indeed. We were all utterly surprised by Edward's words and I could tell I was not the only one who had to fight a laugh.

"Score," Emmett uttered under his breath, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

"She b– But there was a letter attached to it."

"Was there? We didn't want to come too close. You know, rabies, and all that."

"Oho," Rosalie breathed, looking proudly at Edward, eyes wide.

Dana frowned. "Well next time look better," she said incoherently, then turned to leave.

The bell rang not long after, and Dana fled the room like the wind, Jodi hurrying along in her wake.

We remained seated in the library for a moment, howling with laughter and holding our sides and each other to prevent falling off our chairs.

"Her face!" Alice wheezed, unable to get more words out.

"I'm proud bro', didn't know you had it in you," Emmett complimented.

"You can say that again," Rosalie said.

I was laughing too, but I noticed the tension in Edward's smiling face.

_What's wrong?_ I asked in my thoughts.

"This isn't the end," Edward said, getting serious again.

"So? It sure as hell was a nice beginning!" Jasper exclaimed. "Some more of this man, and high school can actually become _fun_."

At this, Edward smiled again and he relaxed a little as he sat back in his chair, shaking his head in bewilderment at what had just come to pass.

After the last stray chuckles died away, Ness spoke up softly. "Ehm, the results of the cheerleading auditions are in the main hallway."

"Oh! Then you must go check it out!" Rosalie said enthusiastically. "I'd come with you, but we have to go to next class now and I was told skipping was not a good idea." She looked and met Alice's gaze as she spoke, and the irritation with actually having to go to class was clear on both their faces.

Yes, high school wasn't as much fun as we had hoped.

When Ness got up we all followed her out of the library. Rose and Em said goodbye and went to their next class — they'd have lunch after that.

Ness was up front with Jacob by her side, and Alice was close behind. When we reached the hallway however, Ness turned to me, wringing her hands in anxiety. I tried to calm her, but she wouldn't go up to the list with names without me, so I let her take my hand and drag me through the tiny crowd of students who were looking at the piece of paper on the wall.

My daughter was remembering the audition as we advanced, thinking back on everything she thought she messed up. The images filled my head and I squeezed her hand to reassure her. I spotted her name first, right under Alice's. Ness saw it a moment later and she squealed happily, turning to embrace me in a crushing hug.

"I did it!"

"Congratulations," I beamed as I kissed her cheek. "I'm so proud of you!"

A quick glance on the list told me that Dana had made it into the squad, too, but that Jodi hadn't. Somehow I had the feeling that Jodi wouldn't mind it as much, but I was sure Dana was going to blame Jodi for not making it anyway.

Edward stepped up to hug Ness as well, when Jasper mumbled, "I need some fresh air."

He didn't need to say that twice. We all turned on our heels without blinking and walked out to the parking lot, where Jasper took deep, cleansing gulps of the air outside.

"God, what a crowd," he swore, frustration clearly lacing his voice. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that. I'm sorry."

"It's better every day," Alice said soothingly.

"Even I notice that," Renesmee said sweetly.

Jasper turned to her and the hint of a smile appeared on his face.

"I'm sorry, but I'm hungry," Jacob said softly. "Will you stay outside? Because then I'll just go in quickly to grab some lunch."

We looked at each other for a moment.

"I'd like to stay here," Jasper then said, almost apologetically.

"Then I'll go with Jake," Ness announced. "We'll get the coats too. It's too cold outside to be here without them."

That left just the four of us. Jasper excused himself then and walked towards the trees that surrounded the parking lot, followed by a worried looking Alice.

I looked at Edward, who was focusing intently on Jasper.

"Will he be all right?" I asked softly, wrapping my arms around me as if I was cold.

Edward snaked his hand around my waist and pulled me against him.

"He will be. There are some very potent scents in this school. He was taken off guard, that's all."

"Will he ever learn to cope better?"

Edward looked down at me, concern etched on his face. He didn't need to answer me. I knew what he was going to say.

I swallowed and felt sorry for Jasper, and hoped that he was far enough away to not feel this emotion from me. It wouldn't make it any easier on him.

"You know," I mused, looking at the point where Jasper and Alice had disappeared between the trees and trying to change the subject, "you didn't keep your promise."

Edward stiffened beside me and looked down, alarmed. "What promise?"

I turned to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, letting them come to rest on the small of his back. He copied the gesture, pulling me against him, but keeping enough distance so he could still meet my eyes. Our hips and lower bellies were touching, the feeling warm and comfortable. Intimate.

He waited for me to speak, but I could see his eyes were burning with impatience and curiosity, and worry.

When I opened my mouth to start talking however, Edward winced fiercely and turned his head to the right, a scowl on his face.

I looked into the same direction and saw Dana approaching, looking at us. She was below the wind, so we couldn't smell her. But of course Edward had heard her thoughts as she approached.

Edward turned back to me, his eyes still intense, but now with a look I recognized as his love for me. Tilting my head back by lifting my chin with his thumb and forefinger, he pressed the softest of kisses to my lips.

I heard Dana making a sound that held it between annoyed and repulsed. As if on cue, Edward deepened the kiss, his hand moving to the back of my head to cradle it as his other hand pulled me tighter against him on the small of my back.

"Honestly," Dana muttered.

When Edward finally pulled back, I smiled like the cat that ate the canary. Edward looked at Dana again, not letting me go.

"For the record," he told her slowly, lowly, "I'm with her." He nodded at me, just in case the message wasn't altogether clear yet.

Dana blinked, momentarily lost for words. Then she frowned and turned to walk away, muttering, "we'll see about that."

"I'd like to see her try," Jacob said as he approached us, seeing Dana walk away. He was holding food, and Ness had our coats.

I loved that she paid so much attention to keeping up human appearances.

"I don't," I muttered in response to Jake's statement.

"Well, at least you made the message clear," Ness said lightly. "You know, in case she misunderstood last week?"

Edward chuckled humorlessly. "She understood perfectly last week."

At a light gust of wind however he frowned and stood aside to get to the other side of Jacob, who looked surprised and vaguely offended.

"Honestly," he rumbled, annoyed. "You still not used to my scent by now?"

"It's not you," Edward replied, exasperated. "It's the milk you're holding." He shuddered visibly and I suppressed a smile.

Renesmee laughed out loud.

Jasper and Alice joined us at the end of lunch. Jasper was significantly calmer and his eyes were lighter.

"Good hunt?" I guessed.

"Sort of," Jasper smirked.

Edward laughed, and Alice not-so-subtly wiped the corners of her mouth, but did it in such a way that Ness and Jake wouldn't see.

I coughed out a laugh too. "Guess there are more ways to ease anxiety indeed," I grinned.

Then the bell rang and we went to homeroom, after saying goodbye to Ness and Jake.

"I wonder how O'Neil will be around us," I mused as we approached the classroom.

"Does it matter?" Edward asked.

"Maybe not," I agreed.

The rest of the day went relatively easy. Dana stayed out of our way and I had good hopes that Edward's messages had been clear. In Music, we learned that Jodi wasn't all that put out about not making the cheerleading squad indeed.

"I don't have time for it anyway," she whispered softly when I asked. "Besides, I don't have the confidence to be a cheerleader."

"I beg to differ," Edward said. "You just need to find it inside yourself."

She smiled at him; weakly, but grateful.

"I'm sure Renesmee will shine," she then said, slightly hesitating over our daughter's name.

Edward and I both beamed.

"I think she will," I said.

"And your other sister too. But I don't think she likes me very much."

"Oh she likes you. We all like you," I replied. "We just don't like Dana, is all."

"I've noticed," she said softly. "You know, Dana is not so bad, really."

"I beg to differ," Edward said again, but this time so softly only I could hear it.

"She'll back off, eventually," Jodi said when she turned back to face front again. "Once she sees what you have together, she will."

"I'm not so sure," I whispered, not sure if Jodi would hear or not.

"Oh, I didn't say she would go down without a fight. You guys better brace yourself. That trick with the teddy bear? That was nothing compared to what she can do."

It didn't even really sound as a warning. It was merely an observation.

"And I suppose you can't provide any help in getting her off our backs?" I asked, the hopelessness clear in my voice.

Jodi didn't turn around when she answered. "I'm not going against Dana. I like you guys, I really do, but you've not been here for very long. You don't know what she's capable of. And I'm not going to go against her and risk her wrath."

"Her wrath?" I asked, surprised.

"Her wrath," Jodi repeated, decisively.

Edward's warning glance told me to not push it any further, so I exhaled my frustration away and tried to focus on the lesson.

After school I thought Ness was decidedly quiet. Edward's puzzled gaze told me that he was trying to get a read on her, but that she was blocking him out. She very rarely did that, but never without good reason. Deciding to help her and knowing she would come to us when she was ready, I shielded her.

Edward swallowed once when he noticed but nodded almost imperceptibly, accepting. And sure enough later that night, after homework and before she was going to bed, she knocked on our bedroom door and asked timidly if she could sit with us for a bit.

"What's wrong?" I asked as she settled in between us on the couch.

Not speaking, she simply took my hand and Edward's, and showed us what had come to pass.

Right after school, Renesmee had seen Dana in the hallway and she hadn't been able to resist. I looked at my daughter as her memory unfolded in my mind's eye.

"How did you know where we live?" Renesmee asked at Dana's back before her.

Dana froze for a moment, so briefly humans might not have noticed it, before she turned back.

"What?" she stalled.

"How did you know where we live? How did you find the house?"

"I have my means," she said slyly.

"Then how? We live pretty far away from the main part of town."

"My uncle was at your house for a family dinner," Dana explained finally, and I was surprised she told the truth. "I got him to tell me where your house is. It's beautiful by the way."

"Thank you," Ness replied. "But why did you come to our house?"

"I wanted to find Edward."

"Why?"

"Because I want him."

"He's taken," Ness said softly.

"Well, honey," Dana drawled in response, "that has never stopped me before and it sure as hell won't stop me now. You can tell that sister of yours she better watch out, because I won't stop until I've had him."

Dana turned and left, smiling wickedly, leaving Ness stunned.

"I'm worried," Ness breathed when she was done showing us what had happened.

A short knock on the bedroom door, and Emmett, Jasper and Alice trailed in.

"I saw," Alice said by way of explanation. "And there's no need to be worried. We can deal with this."

"Between Edward's mind reading and Alice's foreseeing, there's little she can do we won't know of beforehand," Emmett said.

"I beg to differ," Ness objected, and I suppressed a smile when I heard her using her father's words. "You said so yourself she makes snap decisions all the time and her mind is a mess."

"Still," Emmett said. "What could happen? Even if she decided to attack any one of us, would she succeed?"

"No," Ness replied.

"And do you really think your daddy would ever look away from your mommy for just one second?"

"No."

"And do you think that if Dana would ever try anything with any of us, I'd let her get away with that?"

This time Ness chuckled. "No."

"See? Nothing to worry about."

I smiled at Emmett's logic. Still, he had skirted around one important aspect we couldn't possibly help should things get out of hand. Should Dana really decide to become violent and attack us, we'd have to be very careful so she wouldn't notice that we were different.

I looked at Edward and saw he was thinking the same.

The next day we followed all our classes like the good kids we were, and were pleasantly surprised that Dana left us alone.

"She's hatching plans with her pack," Edward said, hooking his fingers through the belt loops of my jeans to keep me close during first break.

Following all classes meant we were blatantly disregarding the non-pda policy instead. We'd keep safe distances when teachers were close, but as soon as they were out of sight, Edward and I were touching again. As were Alice and Jasper, and Emmett and Rosalie. Even Jake and Ness were holding hands more often. A quick glance around me told me lots of students weren't so strict with the non-pda. I wondered why I never registered that before.

"Please don't call her herd a pack," Jacob told Edward. "That's pretty rude. And offensive."

Edward laughed, a happy, carefree laugh. "Herd?"

"Yeah. They're all sheep," Jacob shrugged, smiling, "following their leader without a mind of their own. In a pack, each member is an individual at least."

"You do have less privacy though in a pack," Jasper mused. "I still can't fathom what it must be like to hear each other's thoughts like that."

Edward quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Oh well, I'd rather have thoughts than emotions. I'd rather handle imagery than feelings. Did you know Seth imprinted? A girl his age, he's over the moon."

"Oh that's wonderful," Ness smiled dreamily as Jasper and Emmett guffawed loudly, knowing why Seth would be over the moon with imprinting on a girl _his age_.

"Images over feelings?" Emmett laughed. "Didn't know you were such a visual person, Jake."

But I knew why Jake would rather share the visual, and not the raging hormones.

"Yeah, well, it's not like I can do anything to relieve certain tension," Jake said so softly it was almost a monotone.

A very painful silence followed.

"Well done," Rosalie hissed as she swatted Emmett's arm. "Truly. Fucking A."

Even Ness looked uncomfortable.

The bell rang then, the piercing sound cutting through our silence.

"I'm sorry," Jake said. "I didn't mean…"

"It's all right," Ness assured him.

They both sounded very insecure.

"We'll talk later," I promised, annoyed the time limits being at school brought, then made my way to next class.

The next couple of periods were uneventful and during lunch again nothing much happened. We talked seriously about dropping some classes though, since we were all sure that it really wasn't necessary to have such an ambitious curriculum. Whatever we wanted to do after high school, we'd get the necessary papers. No need to actually to those subjects when we already had the knowledge we needed about almost everything.

Jake and Ness were quiet during lunch, obviously uneasy. I wondered if they had had a chance to talk about what happened during first break, but their tense silence made me guess they hadn't.

"How are Jake and Ness doing?" I asked Edward quietly during Homeroom. I wondered if Edward could even hear them, they were quite a distance away in a different building, surrounded by thousands of other minds.

"They're fine," Edward answered, frowning a little in his concentration.

Then he went rigid, and anger flared in his eyes.

"What?" I asked, alarmed. "What's wrong?"

Edward couldn't answer me as he was trying very hard to keep his breathing under control. His hands were clenched in fists, tendons standing out.

"Edward? Please talk to me."

Finally, his gaze shifted and he met my eyes.

"That dog is thinking about Renesmee," he finally snarled. It was barely quiet enough to not be heard by our classmates.

"So?"

"Improper thoughts," he clarified through clenched teeth.

Ah. Well, it was bound to happen, especially after the painful conversation we had during break. Jacob wasn't always going to be Ness's big brother, and if Seth had indeed imprinted, then Jake would have gotten some nice images indeed when he visited La Push last Saturday.

I knew that it would bother Edward more than me. She was his daughter, and his angel. He could not stand her losing her innocence. And she was very young, she'd grown up so quickly you forgot about that. I myself was not sure what to think. I hadn't allowed myself yet to form an opinion, hoping it would be a long time before this actually became an issue.

I had pushed it away for too long. Ness's physical age did not match her mental age. She was a young adult by all means and purposes. Still, I would have her wait until she was seventeen before she ever tried anything if I could.

However, Jake wanting more was disconcerting indeed. What if he would make Ness believe this is what she needed from him? As per imprinting rules, he would give it ho her.

I placed my hand on Edward's arm to soothe both myself and him. "It was bound to happen," I tried to reassure him. "We'll talk about it later with them."

"She's seven!" His voice was desperate.

"I know. Edward, we can talk about this, but not here." I was starting to get angry too, but I had to be calm. One of us had to be calm. We were in a classroom full of students. And Jacob was thinking about our daughter in certain ways. We couldn't blame him. But we did.

"He should know we will not tolerate it." Edward was seething.

"It's his thoughts, Edward. You cannot blame him for thinking, surely?"

"I can. Watch me," he said as he started to get up.

I pulled him down with inhuman force. "Edward. Sit. Down," I hissed. "Be rational. Please. Not now, not here. We'll discuss it later, when you're calm." I noticed students were starting to pay attention to the hissing fit that was taking place behind them in class.

He looked at me as if I was the cause of his anger. When he wouldn't calm down, I sighed in frustration. And I shielded Jake and Renesmee.

He noticed it immediately. Now he _had_ a reason to be pissed at me.

"You did not just do that."

"Apparently I did. Edward, you need to calm down."

"No. I'll tell him to not get his paws on my girl." He said this too loud in his anger. Even more students started to look around at us. I stared them down before turning my attention to Edward again.

Edward raised his hand to ask permission to go to the bathroom.

He waited for me at the door of the classroom, beckoning me with a simple nod that he wanted me to follow him. I rolled my eyes, but followed him, ignoring Mr. O'Neil who was too surprised to ask anything. Oh dear, we'd have some explaining to do later, especially after assuring him that Edward and I were very happy indeed.

Edward held the door for me — ladies _always_ went first with him. There was nothing that could make him forget the protocols of his upbringing.

As I walked out of the room, I heard Dana whisper. "Hmm, trouble in paradise."

Another student turned around to Dana and Jodi. "They're a _couple_ _too_?"

"Not for much longer, I hope," Dana replied victoriously.

I groaned, too softly for any humans to hear, and filed this new development away for later. Right now, I had to focus on preventing Edward throwing Jacob through a wall.

I was glad to notice that my husband was walking towards the exit of the building. As I followed him, struggling to keep up at a human pace, my phone buzzed in my pocket; a text from Alice.

_Calm him down_.

She didn't bother to warn me of the consequences if I didn't get Edward calm again — she would not contact me if there were no danger.

I caught up with Edward near the exit of the building. He kept walking when he was outside, until we were on the parking lot. Students would be able to see us standing here, but at least we would be able to talk in a normal way.

Edward was pacing. His eyes were fire, his jaw was clenched.

"Edward," I started.

He kept pacing.

"Edward," I tried again. I knew better than to try and stop him from moving.

But he stopped, and looked at me for a long time. "I wasn't prepared for this," he finally admitted.

"I know. Me neither."

Edward started pacing again.

"But we knew it would happen." It was more a statement than anything. I knew it would happen. I just always thought it would only become an issue in ten years time.

"Not now. Not yet." Edward's voice was hard. "Jacob needs to know that we will not tolerate this."

"Tolerate what, Edward? That he's thinking about her? I'm guessing she's thinking about him, too?"

"Not to that degree," he spat. "Not in such intimate ways."

"It's just his thoughts," I tried again. Must have been triggered by the talk about Seth's imprinting. I'm sure Jacob got some nice tips when he was in his wolf form and heard all Seth's thoughts. Seth stopped aging when he was quite young still, but I guessed as with Ness, his mind was older than his body. A girl his age would probably mean that she was physically as old as he was mentally. He certainly looked older than a teenager, even though he hadn't aged since he phased for the first time. And he kept phasing as long as Ness showed up on the rez now and then.

For Seth, this simply meant that he could do everything he wanted, basically. Unlike Quil and Jacob, who were bound to a girl too young to have a more serious relationship with.

"Jake hasn't done anything yet." Sure, they cuddled and kissed and I was sure a hand disappeared under a shirt every now and again, but that was basically it.

Edward paused again and looked at me. "Exactly. _Yet_."

"Edward, you need to stay out of their heads."

He looked at me as if he saw water burning.

"It's private," I murmured, subdued by his fierce gaze.

He sighed, opening his mouth to speak, but then kept silent. He knew I was right. Then he tried a different angle. "Don't tell me you're okay with this."

I cocked an eyebrow at his assumption. "Absolutely not," I hissed, my words almost indiscernible by the feral sound. "Of course not. All I'm saying is that you cannot go and throw Jacob through a wall for _thinking_ things. Have you not thought about certain things before we got married?"

He looked busted. "Well, yes, but..."

"And you never really intended to do anything, right?"

"Um, no. But that was different. You were still human."

"Watch your volume," I warned him.

He shrugged. "Nobody hears. People never really listen, anyway. But it was different, with you."

"So the whole virtue-thing was a lie?"

"What? Of course not!" he spat. "What are you implying?"

"That thoughts do not need to lead to action, Edward. You, of all people, should know that!"

He didn't reply, but started pacing again. Then he looked up at me. "Can you please lift your shield?"

I shook my head. "Not until you're calm again."

"I am calm," he tried.

I just looked pointedly at his hands, still clenched in fists and then met his eyes. I knew he saw the reflection of his pitch-black irises in my golden ones.

"You're not. Calm down, Edward. I'm not happy either, but this is a truth we knew we had to face one day or the other."

"We'll have to talk to them tonight," he said.

"We do. But we have to figure out a way to warn Jake off without giving him ideas instead."

"He knows he better not try anything," Edward said lowly.

"Exactly. So your hissy fit just now was not needed at all. And also? Please don't lash out at me when things don't go the way you want to. That's completely unnecessary. We're in this together, remember?"

He looked contrite. "I'm sorry. I'm just tense, I guess."

"No shit, Sherlock," I muttered as he stepped up to me and wrapped his arms around me in a fierce hug.

"I'm sorry," he said again. "I love you."

"I love you too," I replied, my words nearly drowned out by the sound of the bell ringing. "Come on, we have to go to Gym."

* * *

_Jake and Ness - we knew this would happen. And Dana is planning on new tricks... Suggestions are welcome ;) _


	22. Changes

**A/N I don't own Twilight. I own opiates that help me sleep and sit up. Both are convenient.**

_Thanks for the reviews. Was this fic recced somewhere I'm not aware of? :) _

_Thanks to Sherry for going over this for me at lightning speed. _

_I know updates are slow. What I give you is the best I can do._

* * *

We changed quickly for Gym and trailed into the gymnasium, lining up along the long wall of the room to wait for instructions as to what we would do today. Alice was bouncing, fidgeting in excitement.

"Oh dear," I muttered in mock annoyance.

The coach blew his whistle to get our attention. "I want to spend this hour to an unusual subject," he introduced.

Why on earth did Alice have an alarmingly smug grin on her face?

"Self-defense is a very important skill."

Ah.

A ripple of anticipation went through the class. I looked at Edward in alarm. We'd gone through every detail we could think of when I prepared for school, but we had not considered bodily contact with humans. How would I ever be able to control myself?

"Relax," Edward said so low that no human could have a hope of hearing. "We'll team up. You're doing well, Bella. If it gets too much, just sprain your ankle."

I frowned at him. "It's not that," I whispered, annoyed. "I don't know my own strength with humans."

"You'll be good," Alice chimed in. "We'll stick together."

The coach in the meantime was continuing the lesson. Something about a big town, bad people that caused trouble, and the necessity to be able to defend oneself.

"All right, pair up, try to make boy-girl couples," coach Smith said.

Alice and Jasper and Edward and I formed duos. It was a convenient solution, since for some reason most students seemed hesitant to pair up with us. _Wonder why…_

The coach showed us certain basic moves to handle an assault. I had trouble containing a giggle. As if we needed any of that.

An unsuspecting girl was chosen to try and throw the coach to the ground. Her smile was victorious as she succeeded to pull the coach forward over her shoulder.

"Okay, now you try," the coach called. "Ladies first, so guys, prepare to get beaten."

A nervous chattering started, as most of the students of course were apprehensive to be so close to each other. It wasn't really a comfortable situation. Then again, it wouldn't be either if it were a real assault, and perhaps it was good that the students learned to act while nervous.

As Edward and I approached each other, his eyes were sparkling with mischief.

"Don't," Alice warned at whatever my husband was planning. He shrugged, and stood behind me so I could pull him forward over my shoulder.

_I could throw you through the wall, as well_, I mused with a lowered shield.

In response he just pressed the length of his body against mine. A low purr only Edward and Alice could hear escaped me at the contact. My entire body was buzzing immediately.

Alice sighed in exasperation and rolled her eyes as she pulled Jasper over her shoulder without blinking. Jasper's experience in fighting showed once again when he agilely rolled over and jumped to his feet again in one fluent movement.

I chuckled at that, and then threw Edward over my shoulder with a tenth of the power I held in the tip of my little finger alone. I was so focused on acting human that I forgot the fun I could have had with this.

Alice then also did the move with Edward, but she made sure that he landed flat on his back this time, not giving him the opportunity to break his fall with his arms. She could not have done this trick with Jasper, he could break any fall.

She must have very meticulously planned her strength with this, as she could have easily damaged the gym floor with Edward's body. Then again, she'd probably foreseen that all would go well.

"Very good," Coach Smith complimented as he walked towards us. "Have you done this before?"

"No," I replied. I'd wrestled grizzlies, though, did that count?

"Hey coach," Dana called, "it's not fair that they should practice with each other. They're family."

"All the better," Alice replied. "Means I'm not afraid to hurt them."

"She's right, maybe you should try different partners," coach Smith opted. "Dana, why don't you pair up with Edward?"

I heard Edward's jaws snap together audibly as I tensed up in annoyance.

Dana walked up to my husband, swaying her hips and flipping her hair back as she stopped before him.

"Okay, Edward," she said. "Let me conquer you."

Oh my God. Really? _Really?_

I could see a muscle working in Edward's jaw as he stood behind her, his body taut as if he was about to attack.

Or flee.

"She is going to play a trick on him," Alice suddenly warned me under her breath. "Please do not go for that bait. It's not worth it."

"Then prevent it," I hissed.

"No. This way is better. Believe me."

Edward reached out so Dana could grab his arm for the move. A sly smile flashed over her face as her fingers wrapped around his arm. A red haze of jealousy blurred my gaze, but I pushed it way.

He gave in easily when she pulled. But somewhere during their movement, she managed to fall down with him, just so that he landed on top of her, their faces close to each other. Only Alice and I could hear Edward's teeth slam together with a snap, a low threatening growl rumbling continuously in his chest.

Catcalls and whistles erupted from the students that had stopped to watch.

I drew in my breath sharply and tried to suppress a feral hiss with all my might. Alice tightened her grip on me even further.

"Let go, Bella, he's just as pissed as you are. Let go, it's not worth it, she's not worth it," she hummed in my ear.

"Oh!" Dana squeaked in fake surprise. Yes, the way her arms were around him _really_ showed that she had not expected this.

Edward got off her as fast as he could without attracting attention. Then he reached out his hand and pulled Dana up as well.

"Dana, you didn't keep your feet planted firmly to the ground as you should have," Coach Smith continued his lesson immediately. "We have now seen what will happen when this movement goes wrong. Now, let's try something else…"

I no longer listened as I looked at Edward. His face was hard, he was angry. When he turned to us again I touched his hand to reassure him, and myself. Dana was looking at us with a mixture of amusement and confusion.

"That girl is getting on my nerves," Edward, Alice and Jasper murmured at the same time. In spite of my own anger, I chuckled.

"Do you agree this has to end then?" I asked as we practiced other moves.

"I don't know how," Alice sighed. "It doesn't matter what route I follow in my visions, they all end op in chaos. Nothing is decided yet."

"I am losing my patience," I replied. "I say we just try something and you tell us if that was a good idea or not."

"I'm done with this too," Edward agreed. He inhaled, nostrils flaring, and shuddered. "I smell like her," he complained, his nose crinkling in disgust.

"Okay," Jasper said lowly as Alice worked him to the ground with so much force I was surprised the floor wasn't damaged. The gleam they both had in their eyes at their play fighting was more than I needed to see. "Try stuff. See how the lands lay. Because I agree that we can't go on like this."

"I'm scared," Alice said. "You don't understand the horrors I've seen, what can happen when it goes wrong."

"But do you want to stay around and just do nothing?" Jasper said softly, comfortingly. "You know that won't solve anything."

"And I'm not really sure if time will make things clearer. If it's going to come to a climax, I'd rather it happened sooner than later," Edward said.

Alice thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Very well. But nothing that hints to what we are," she warned.

Whatever. I had a 'go' to put Dana in her place. The thought put an immediate smile on my face.

**~O~**

After our last class, we walked through the hallways towards the exit of the building. I saw Dana coming up to us and I took Edward's hand, linking my fingers through his in a possessive gesture.

Her face fell as she walked past me, and the moment she reached me, she bumped her shoulder into mine. I gave way, moving along with her so as not to give away the solidity of my body, but I frowned.

"What the…" I muttered, then I turned, angry. "Try that one more time," I called after her, threatening.

Dana turned in her walk, stepping backwards as she moved her hands up in a come-hither motion. "Bring it on, bitch," she leered.

Edward stopped me from walking up to her. "We agreed to try stuff," he said softly. "Not dare her for a fight."

I turned back to him and sighed. "I'd win, anyway."

"You totally would," my husband smiled down at me, and I laughed when I heard the pride in his voice.

When we got home after school, Edward was tensing up again and I realized he was preparing to deal with Jacob and what he heard in his thoughts.

"Please stay calm," I pleaded. "I'll come with you, and I agree, but please stay calm."

Edward nodded, his jaw still tense. After all the events from today he was really wound up and I could not blame him for that. I felt pretty agitated, too.

Perhaps we needed to hunt later, get rid of some of the energy.

The moment Jacob stepped into the house, Edward went to him. "Jacob, a word?"

His voice was tense, low.

Jacob blinked in surprise and looked over Edward's shoulder at me for a moment, clearly wondering what this was about.

I nodded to let him know he should listen to Edward, who now simple stepped out of the house, expecting Jake to follow him.

I followed behind, mouthing 'it's okay' to a very worried looking Esme who appeared from the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel.

Edward walked into the forest surrounding the house and Jake followed, obviously insecure and apprehensive what was going on. Edward stopped in a small clearing when we were well out of earshot of the house and turned to Jake. His face was tense but I could tell he was trying to rein it in.

"Jacob, we need to talk," he started.

"Apparently," he answered, looking around him nervously. "What's going on? This almost feels like you're going to kill me here."

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose at Jake's misplaced attempt of humor and took a deep breath to calm himself.

"This is about Renesmee," Edward started when he had calmed again. "I heard your thoughts today."

Jake thought for a moment, trying to recall what Edward was referring to. The moment realization kicked in, his face went blank and his mouth popped open in a silent 'oh.'

"Oh," he finally brought out.

"Yeah, 'oh,'" Edward repeated. "Want to tell me what brought this about?"

Jake took a deep breath as he thought of his words. "Seth imprinted. I saw his mind, man. Guess the images resonated. I'm sorry."

"This is a very delicate situation," Edward replied. Then he looked at me. "And I'm not sure how we should handle this. I understand that Ness is grown both physically and mentally, but…"

"Hey, don't worry man," Jacob said, bringing is hands up in a submissive gesture. "It's nothing like that. Ness is nowhere near ready and I respect that. I can wait for ten more years if you want me to. Seriously, I'd _never_ even try to do something she's not willing to do."

Edward tensed up completely and his eyes turned dark. "Too bad you broke that promise before. Twice, if I recall correctly."

Jake's shoulders sagged as he realized what Edward was referring to.

"This is different," he said softly. "Ness… She's my imprint. My universe evolves around her. I couldn't do anything that would hurt her, you have to trust me in that. It's like you with Bells here. You couldn't do anything that would willfully hurt her."

Edward frowned, annoyed with Jake's comparison. He always had a hard time to believe that imprinting was the same as vampire mating.

I, too, had some reservations. Imprinting to me always seemed like one way traffic, whereas mating went both ways.

"Trust me in this," Jacob pleaded. "Honestly, I know Ness isn't ready and I can only ever do what she wants from me."

"That's the problem, Jacob," Edward said tersely. "You've been known to _make_ others want what you want."

A defeated looked passed over Jake's face as he rubbed it with his hands. "This is going to haunt me forever," he muttered, looking away.

We were silent for a moment, the only sounds coming from distant wildlife in the forest and the wind rustling through the rotting leaves on the ground.

"Okay," Jacob finally said. "I've set a shit example. I realize this and I am sorry for it. I can only promise you that with Ness, things are different. I promise I won't do anything to hurt her. I can only ever give her what she wants from me, and the possibility of me making her want things from me is pretty far-fetched, Edward," he continued, a hint of anger seeping into his voice. "Also, it implies that you think Renesmee can be manipulated and she's way too smart for that."

I huffed at the indirect insult, because Jacob had manipulated _me_ once into doing what he wanted from me.

"Don't distract me from the point in case, Jacob," Edward warned. "This has nothing to do with Ness's perceived naivety, but with your skills as a manipulator."

"Then ask Sam. Or Seth. Or Embry. They all imprinted and they all can tell you that there is no cell in their body that would ever even _think_ of making their imprints do something against their will." Jake's voice got harder and harder as he spoke.

"Besides, you are all watching me like hawks. I'm guessing that if I ever tried anything that was only a hair's width out of line, I wouldn't live to tell."

"True," I murmured. "See, Jake, thing is, Ness can act like she's all grown up and adult and strong, and in a way she is, but in some ways she isn't. When you sleep, she often comes to us to lie in between us, because even though she is grown and I see her like that, she also hasn't been alive for that long and sometimes that seeps through."

"I understand that," Jacob said. "I really do. Damn, my mind just slipped, and sorry I offended you with that. But Ness isn't ready, so nothing is happening. It is that simple and I hope you can trust me in this. Give me a chance to prove myself."

"Just remember, one toe out of line and I will have you," Edward warned. "If you ever hurt my daughter…"

"I know," Jake said solemnly. "Don't I know."

Even though the conversation ended on a menacing note, we decided to go hunting afterwards, just the three of us, to relieve the tension. Jacob undressed behind a tree and phased so he could keep up with us.

We didn't hunt much, we'd fed to the point of gluttony over the past weekend and I didn't really need the blood, but hunting with Edward was always fun. I watched as he took down a big buck and we fed together from the same animal, Edward's arms like vices around me as we drank.

Jacob was a little ways away from us and as I felt the warm liquid blood pouring down my throat, I just thought about how different we were from humankind, and how good it actually felt to just be able to be ourselves amongst each other. Of course we had tense situations, but we were a family, and I was happy to have them.

When we got back home we spent the afternoon with the others, playing games and bantering back and forth. The tension was infinitely less, and Esme smiled warmly at Edward and me, leaving her questions for now and just happy to see us in a lighter mood again.

Alice had placed new gifts underneath the Christmas tree, and Emmett was adorable as he could barely contain his curiosity. If it were up to him, we wouldn't wait until Christmas to unwrap the gifts. I wondered if he would actually make it until then, or if he would try to sneak a peek when he thought we weren't looking. Knowing Emmett, it would be all too obvious and Alice would be able to see it coming from a mile away.

When the hour grew late, we went to our room and spent a couple of hours listening to music, taking turns in playing our favorite songs. After I'd selected my lullaby for the third time, Edward chuckled.

"You still like that song so much?" he asked, pressing kisses on my hair.

We were sitting in our rocking chair. I liked it, it was a real antique and the woodwork was of authentic craftsmanship — you could sit in it in great comfort for hours without even needing a cushion.

Not that we needed one, anyway.

I was curled up on Edward's lap, my face buried in the hollow of his neck. Edward had his arms wound around me tightly and rocked us gently, his cheek resting on the top of my hair. It was by far one of my favorite ways to be with him.

"The song is me," I tried to explain. "And it is you at the same time. I don't know. Does that sound really tacky?"

"It does," Edward said, smiling lightly. "But I see what you mean, though."

We were silent again for a while. When it was Edward's turn to select a song, he chose Debussy, Clair de Lune. The gentle piano sounds drifted from his speakers and filled the room. Edward let the chair rock in time with the clam beat of the song; the swaying movement of the chair was almost hypnotic. I pressed myself a little closer to him and he tightened his grip on me even more. We both sighed in contentment.

"Edward," I finally whispered, "I really don't want to worry about Dana. I want to have fun, with you, with the rest of us. It feels like our encounter with the Volturi was only yesterday. You didn't keep your promise," I pouted, picking up the conversation where we left off the day before because Dana had interrupted us.

He was alert immediately, always afraid of ways in which he could possibly disappoint me.

"What promise?" His voice was tense and his reaction so similar to the one he had had the day before I wondered if he even recalled the conversation, or that he had been too distracted by Dana.

I didn't like him so tense, so I ended my jest swiftly. "I thought you told me that this life would be a delicious boredom?"

He chuckled in spite of himself. "There's always some annoying brunette who just won't step down."

I smiled. When I felt his fingers slowly trace down my spine, a low purr settled deep in my chest. I gently traced his gorgeous mouth with my fingertips. His full lips parted under my touch and I could feel his breath almost warm on my hand. His eyes were smoldering, his gaze melting into mine. I lost my train of thought — after all this time I could still drown in those eyes.

When I didn't move, dazzled by his gaze, he took my hand in his and pressed his lips in a kiss against my fingertips that still hovered over his mouth. I blinked when I felt his touch, and realized I had broken an impending building bond.

My body was humming with the electricity I could feel vibrating between us. I quickly listened to the sounds in the rest of the house; two heartbeats going steadily with deep, relaxed breathing meant that Jacob and Renesmee were sleeping soundly. Emmett and Rosalie had gone out, Esme and Carlisle were talking softly in the living room. I could make out what they were saying, but I wasn't listening to them. Alice and Jasper were in their room one floor beneath us. I heard a rustle of fabric and Alice's contented sighs, before I tuned them out, too.

I didn't feel awkward anymore to be with Edward while we weren't alone. Yes, our family could hear us. But we could hear them, too. We could hear every movement, every breath, if we wanted to. But I quickly learned to tune them out, and knew that they did the same. It was the price to pay when living in a large family of vampires. There were no secrets, but everyone was very, very discrete when it came to it. It never caused much trouble, except sometimes when Emmett forgot his strength again and something broke. That of course was the subject of relentless teasing.

I moved, agilely shifting so I straddled him. The rocking chair was big enough, I could easily place my knees besides Edward's thighs on the seat. He never stopped rocking the chair as he looked up at me with his liquid topaz eyes.

I took his head in my hands, touching his copper hair with my fingertips. Then I leaned my forehead against his, letting my hair fall around him like a shield. His arms snaked around me, under my shirt, caressing my skin.

"Now, what do you want," I half asked, half stated.

His eyes turned perceptibly darker as his hands continued to touch my skin.

"You," he simply answered.

I leaned in to kiss him, chastely, before I moved my lips to trace his jaw line, down to the hollow under his ear. His grip on me tightened when I traced the skin of his neck first with open-mouthed kisses, then with my tongue.

"How do you want me?" I whispered into his neck, before grazing the skin there with my teeth.

"On top," he breathed as he pulled me against him.

I sat back and lifted my arms above my head so Edward could pull off my shirt, which he did slowly, grazing my skin as he lifted the fabric. A low purr rumbled in his chest as he let his hands roam over my body. His eyes were scorching as his gaze burned into mine.

I crept a little closer to him so that our hips were touching and pulled off his shirt over his head. Edward looked up at me with nothing but adoration on his face, even though his eyes were dark with lust.

We sat like that for a while, skin on skin. Edward kept rocking the chair gently the whole time, selecting a play list on his iPod with soft piano music.

His fingers trailed over my skin, writing nondescript figures and words only he knew the definition to. Then he lifted me up without effort so I could slide out of my underwear, and when he lowered me again I simply ripped his so that he didn't need to get up.

His body was ready, straining towards me as his lips captured mine. I lowered myself over him and we both exhaled in relief at being joined together.

We didn't really move, letting our movements be dictated by the rocking of the chair, I could feel Edward's thighs flexing every time he pushed his feet down on the ground to rock the chair backwards, and I enjoyed the feeling.

We reached a slow, warm climax and I hid my face in the crook of his neck when the aftershocks died down, keeping him inside me to be as close as possible.

"Do you think Dana could come in between us?" I asked softly after a long silence.

Edward tightened his arms around me. "No. Do you worry about that?"

"Not really. I'm just afraid of what she is capable of."

"Let's see what happens fro a few more days. Alice should know more by then. A lot happened today."

"It did. I was so angry when she made you fall on top of her in Gym."

Edward growled low in his chest at the memory. "And I couldn't prevent it. Not without risking giving away what we are. I had to go with it."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Alice showed me the vision and the possible outcomes during Dana's fall. It was a close call."

"I didn't know that," I replied. "She was just holding onto me for dear life."

Edward chuckled humorlessly. "I saw. She saw you pushing Dana a little bit too hard."

I shrugged. "You can't deny how tempting that idea is."

Edward laughed, for real now, and pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

**~O~**

The next days in school, I was tense. Everywhere I looked it seemed that Dana was looking back at us. She was everywhere — when we turned a corner, when we entered the classes she was in, too, when we walked into the lunchroom… It made me nervous as hell. Not because I was afraid of her, but because I didn't know what she was up to.

She pulled the stunt of bumping into my shoulder two more times in as many days. The first time I called after her, "you _really_ didn't see me there, huh!" and she flipped me off. The second time, I told her again that she really should try it _one more time_.

"You said that two times ago already, sweetheart," she replied, and then had walked away laughing.

Oh, it was _on_.

On Friday, disaster struck. It was lunch break and we were in the cafeteria, talking about Seth, He wanted to come over for a bit, since he had dropped out of school and was out of his mind. His imprint didn't mind coming along, as she was deadly curious to meet us.

We were going over the details of his arrival when right next to our table, a girl holding a tray tripped and fell.

How on earth it happened, I didn't know, but suddenly the thick, alluring scent of blood was thick in the air. I closed my eyes and inhaled, not able to deny myself the divine smell of fresh human blood.

In a fraction of a second, Edward's hand was holding my arm painfully, to prevent me going for the girl of course.

'I'm fine," I said, trying to pry his hand away. "Truly, I'm—" And then I saw Jasper.

Rigid, with black eyes and tense jaw, and looking intently at the girl who was now on her knees with tears in her eyes as she clutched her heavily bleeding hand.

"We have to go out," Edward said, too low for humans to hear.

We all got up, in procession, and escorted Jasper out of the cafeteria. It was a small miracle that he didn't try to fight and because he cooperated, we quickly made up a story that he was so afraid of blood that he was paralyzed as soon as he saw it.

Jasper didn't worry about that story hurting his ego and those who had looked at Jasper closely would not buy it, but for now, the lie would hold.

We forced him to breathe in fresh air when we were outside. Ness held my hand tightly, unintentionally showing me what she had seen in the cafeteria in a loop. Jasper's face, his black eyes, and her fear that he would snap and expose us all.

"It's okay," I whispered, looking at Jasper who now looked defeated, leaning his forehead on Alice's shoulder as she stroked his hair comfortingly.

Suddenly, Jasper turned, too quickly for human eyes to see, and started back towards the school. Edward was in front of him in a flash, using all his force to hold Jasper back from going back to the girl and draining her dry.

"Come on," Edward said lowly. "Fight it. You don't want this. You're stronger than that."

Jasper growled, in anger or frustration, and it was so loud I was afraid that passers-by would hear it.

"We need to go away," Alice whispered frantically. "He needs to be away for now."

"Go," I said. "Take him. I'll see you when he's calm again."

"Are you okay?" Edward asked me, his gaze worried even though his face was tense with the force he needed to use to hold Jasper.

"I'm good," I said. "Believe me. No worries. Go, I'll stay with Ness."

No _way_ I was going to leave her alone with Dana still around.

Edward's gaze lingered on mine, so I lowered my shield and let him into my thoughts, which were in no way about the blood we had seen in the cafeteria. My throat wasn't even burning that much, probably because we had hunted not long ago.

"You sure?" he asked. "Yes. Go," I repeated, and watched how Edward and Alice guided a struggling Jasper away from the parking lot, and into the surrounding woods. I hoped they would take him hunting.

Poor Jasper. He really had been struggling lately. I wondered why that was.

"What was _wrong_ with _him_?" I heard an all too familiar voice behind me and I turned to see Dana walking up to me, followed by her pack, correction, herd.

Jacob huffed in annoyance and Ness hid half behind me. I wrapped my arm around her protectively as I faced the girl I was beginning to hate more every second.

"Panic attack," I said levelly. "He just has to calm down."

Dana snorted, and it was obvious she thought Jasper was weak. "Because of a little _blood_?"

Damn, she _was_ observant.

"Nothing wrong with that," I said. Besides, it hadn't been a little blood. I think the poor kid that fell would need stitches and not just a few.

Dana shrugged. "It's not very manly," she said. Then she changed track. "So, they didn't need you there, then?"

"What? I asked, confused.

"They left without you. Your boyfriend didn't need you?"

I frowned at her implication. "He's perfectly fine."

"Guess you're not always first on his mind then," Dana said lightly.

"What is your point, Dana?" I asked, really not wanting to have this conversation.

"Oh, just that men can stray, you know. However loyal they seem to be."

"I'm not so worried about that."

"Then let me put it differently," Dana said, her voice suddenly hard as she stepped into my personal space. Behind me, Ness cowered and whimpered too softly for humans to hear. "If I want a man to stray, I can make it happen. So if I were you I'd start worrying, because I can bet you it won't be long until Edward strays. To me."

I looked at her face as she spewed the words, all confident and arrogant.

Instead of being afraid or spluttering, what she obviously expected, I quirked an eyebrow at her and laughed, throwing my head back in the process.

When I was done, I looked back at her. "You are funny, Dana. I didn't know."

She was seething. "I am not joking."

Suddenly serious, I looked her down. "Neither am I. Edward is mine and nothing, _nothing_, can come between us."

"We'll see," she said, tilting her head back arrogantly and flipping her hair back over her shoulder. Then she turned and started to walk away, gesturing her herd to follow with a gesture of her hand.

"Don't bother, Dana," I called after her. "You won't win, and I am guessing you are a pretty sore loser."

Dana stopped in her tracks and turned back to me. "I never lose," she said darkly. "I always get what I want."

"You won't get Edward," I stated, stubbornly refusing to let her have the last word.

"We'll see," she repeated, and then turned back to walk back into the school as the bell rang.

I sat in homeroom alone, feeling lonely without my siblings surrounding me. Alice, Jasper and Edward were still gone. Edward had texted me to let me know they would keep Jasper away from humans for a few more hours, before they could come back. He also told me that Emmett had joined them in the woods, to assist in much-needed strength to restrain Jasper should that be needed again.

I texted back and forth with Rosalie and Ness during homeroom, talking about little nothings, supporting each other with this sudden new stress.

During the last short break of the day, we sought each other out in the hallway. I didn't want to go to the rest of my classes but I lingered, not wanting to go home by myself either. Even Rosalie felt a little lost without Emmett.

"Why do you think Jasper is struggling so much still?" Ness asked softly as she folded her body around Jake's.

Jake looked at me insecurely before he wrapped his huge arms around her tiny frame, searching my gaze for any sign of disapproval.

I mouthed 'it's okay' when Ness didn't look.

"I think," Rosalie started slowly, thinking as she formed her answer to Ness's question, "that Jasper has been very tense lately with all that has been going on. His struggles always have been worse than ours, but with Dana and those worries, he feels all our emotions and that results in him being less able to fight his bloodlust."

"I'm so sorry for him," she said in a small voice. "There really isn't anything we can do, is there?"

"Take care of Dana," Rose snickered humorlessly.

"Rose," I tutted.

"I know," Rosalie sighed. "I just…" She made a sound that conveyed better than any words how we all felt.

When the bell rang again we lingered, not wanting to break up just yet. Of course Dana passed us in the hallway, and I rolled my eyes. That girl seriously needed to let go already.

She was talking animatedly with one of her friends as she walked past me, and just at the last moment she bumped her shoulder into mine again — hard.

Well, I had warned her a couple of times, hadn't I? So, I didn't budge. I didn't move an inch as she slammed her shoulder against mine.

A surprised exclamation of pain echoed through the hallway as Dana almost fell down from the force of the impact, and she rubbed her shoulder with wide eyes.

"What the…?"

I just looked at her with one eyebrow raised, daring her to say anything.

"You bitch!" she screamed suddenly, pointing at me in accusation. "You attacked me!"

Some students stopped to look at what would hopefully become a catfight.

"Hardly," I countered. "But you seriously should get your eyesight checked. You've run into me four times now."

"Oh, well, perhaps it's because you're not much to look at. You're easily overlooked."

Rosalie snorted and I raised my brows in surprise.

I smelled him a moment before I heard him.

"I beg to differ. I think she is the most beautiful thing to look at," Edward said, walking up to me and lifting my chin gently so he could brush his lips against mine. His hand trailed down my left arm to grasp my hand and he brought it up to kiss my wedding ring.

"Oh my God," Dana whispered. "You are _married?_"

"Yeah," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady, feeling all fluttery after Edward's ministration.

"That is so sick," she replied. "You're minors!"

Edward shrugged. "We got permission from our parents."

"Oh my God," she said again. "Well, you married a dangerous person, Edward. She just attacked me."

"Did she, now?" Edward asked, raising his brows.

Behind me, I could feel Rosalie, Ness and Jake looking on.

"Yes," Dana said, rubbing her shoulder. "I'm sure it will bruise."

"What did she do?" Edward asked.

"She bumped into me," Dana lied with a hard face.

"Perhaps she didn't see you," Edward said off-handedly. "You're not much to look at, after all. You are easily overlooked."

Dana's mouth fell open, and she blinked, obviously beyond confused as to why Edward was copying her exact words from earlier back to her.

She sputtered, then huffed, then actually _stamped her foot_ and stomped off, muttering to herself until she was out of sight.


	23. Chaos

**A/N I don't own Twilight. I do own a white laptop that has become a faithful companion since I figured out how to type whilst lying down.**

_Thanks for all the reviews. I have the feeling some of you have become impatient with the story. So have I. So, this is the second to last chapter. Writing this has been fun until it wasn't anymore. I have had such a craptastic year, with a car accident in March that I still suffer the after effects from__ to mention just one thing. I've lost the joy in writing this.  
_

_The last chapter is written and ready and will be up soon after this one. Where I stand now, there will be no epilog. I have always promised I would finish this story, and I did._

_Thanks forever to Sherry, whom I got to know through this very fic. She has talked me off the ledge multiple times and held my hand through it all. I love you to pieces dear woman, I hope you know this!_**  
**

* * *

We picked up my new cars on Saturday morning. I was oddly excited about getting a gift and Edward basked in my happiness, a grin on his face the entire time.

When Ness announced she wanted to come with us, we subtly tried to explain that mommy and daddy wanted to do this alone.

Ness pouted, but got the hint, and went over to Alice for some attention.

Edward and I picked up the cars one by one, and took a detour back to the house, taking turns racing through the mountains. Both cars were christened appropriately thoroughly, so we arrived back home relaxed, and with silly grins on or faces as we stood aside while the others fawned over my new vehicles.

Seth arrived in the late afternoon on Saturday. He would have come running, but since his imprint Janet couldn't very well travel that way, they took a plane. Jacob was in a good mood when he left the house to go pick them both up at the airport.

In the meantime, we talked about Dana, as ever. Carlisle stressed once more that there would be no killing of humans involved, however annoying they might be. Rose huffed but had to agree with Carlisle that in the end, Dana hadn't done much wrong besides being overly annoying.

"Unbelievable how much influence she has on our lives," I muttered. "We've been in that school for two weeks, and look at us now."

"We'll wait one more week," Carlisle decided. "If she doesn't back off, we'll prepare to move away." He sighed. "I had hoped we could have stayed here for a while, if just for Ness."

"Don't worry about me," Ness said. "I know you guys want me to go through high school and I like that I made some friends here and all, but there is plenty of time for that. Besides, I can't enjoy it if I see how stressed out you all are."

I hugged her against me, telling her she needn't worry about us.

"We could also consider home schooling," Esme said.

"For a human girl?" I asked, perplexed.

"That kind of defies us mingling with society," Carlisle answered. "Although I must say that for now I think that is not a bad idea. For Jasper, at least."

"But I don't want to miss him," Alice said in a small voice. "And I made the cheerleader squad with Ness."

"What do you think, Jasper?" Esme asked. "What do you all think?"

Jasper thought for a moment, a muscle twitching in his jaw as he tensed. "I don't like to be the weakest link. But it makes me feel queasy to think that you are out there and I am in here."

"I don't care either way," Ness said. "If you want to stay home, I'm good with that."

"But what do you really want?" Edward asked.

I felt how Ness's thoughts betrayed her before she could speak.

"If you're going to school, we're going with you," Edward said.

"So are we," Rosalie said, pointing at Emmett and herself.

"It's not normal for girls my age to have her entire family in the school, you know, much less her parents," Ness smirked.

"Well, you're not a normal girl your age either, so deal with it," I smirked back. "There is no way we are letting you go to that school, with that girl, unsupervised."

"We could also just change schools," Emmett suggested dryly.

A silence fell.

"Over a human girl?" I asked, again. "Seriously."

One week. We decided to wait one more week.

I squeezed Edward's hand and followed Esme into the kitchen to prepare food for our guests.

**~O~**

Janet was an incredibly sweet girl. Eighteen years of age, she was a good match for Seth who hadn't aged in eight years, but had the body and the mind of a grown man anyway.

She was taking a year off between high school and college. Seth was glowing with pride when she told us she wanted to become a psychologist, but felt she was too young to start that education yet. She wanted to see something of the world and grow more into herself before she felt she could actually start helping others.

It explained why she had time to join Seth.

We talked with her as Jacob and Seth ate their meals. I could see the curiosity burning behind her eyes, and when Jacob was done eating and wiped his mouth with a napkin, she caved.

"So... You're vampires, right?" Her blush was fierce and I smiled gently, feeling for her.

"Yep," Emmett replied, businesslike.

"That's… amazing," she said. "I mean, when Seth told me about the legends, I had a hard time to believe it, but now I'm seeing you all here, it still doesn't sink in. You look so _normal_."

We laughed out loud at that.

"I think to be around us you need a certain lack of self-preservation," Edward mused. "So you wouldn't see what others see. Most people shy away from us."

"Did you expect fangs?" Emmett asked, licking his lips.

This made her blush even more fiercely. "N-no."

We all laughed again, good-natured as she hid her face against Seth's chest.

"You can ask your questions, Janet," Edward said softly after a moment. "We're all willing to answer them."

"Okay," she started. "So, um, how old are you all?"

"Carlisle is the oldest," Edward said. "He was changed around the 1660's. Jasper was changed sometime during the civil war in the 1860's. Then there's me, and I was changed in 1918. Alice was changed two years later, and Esme the year after that. Rosalie and Emmett both came into this life around 1935."

Janet was silent, calculating how old everybody must be. "And you two?" she asked softly, pointing at Ness and me.

"Bella was changed in 2006, when Renesmee was born."

"I still can't believe she is your daughter," Janet smiled shyly. "I mean, you can totally see it, of course, but it's inconceivable."

"I'd say it's perfectly conceivable," Emmett guffawed, and we all laughed.

"So you live off animals?"

"Yes," Emmett replied.

"And that is the same? I mean…"

"Nothing tastes as good as humans," Rosalie answered. "At least, that's what I think. But we like to think of ourselves as gentler creatures, who don't have to kill humans to survive."

A silence fell as Janet processed Rosalie's words and probably realized she was in a room full of predators.

"I disagree, you know," Ness said softly and Edward started laughing even before she spoke the rest of her words. "I think chocolate has the best taste in the world."

We spent the afternoon chattering and playing some games. Edward told me that Seth was begging him in his thoughts to not tell Janet about our gifts. He was worried it would send her into information overload.

Edward also told me that Seth's thoughts had slipped a few times and that he was dying to know what Janet was thinking about it all, about him.

When Edward refused to spill, Seth was playfully disappointed. H walked away again, but Edward chuckled silently.

"He's not going to give up," he said softly in my ear.

"And you're not going to spill?" I guessed.

His smug smile was all the answer I needed.

**~O~**

On Sunday, we girls went shopping while the men stayed at home. Jasper and Emmett wanted to hunt, and Seth and Jacob wanted to spend some time together.

"They want to roll in the mud," Alice shrugged when we piled up in my new car.

I drove, feeling for Janet as the others drilled her mercilessly about her relationship with Seth, the details of imprinting, her thoughts on the wolves and the vamps.

"Tell me, honestly," Rosalie said, looking over her shoulder from her shotgun position. "What is so enticing about those wolves? They're hot, sweaty, bulky…"

"Exactly," Janet grinned, and we all laughed.

"They smell icky," Alice added, scrunching up her nose. "Like, wet dog times a thousand. Worse even, now Seth is here."

Janet looked at Alice for a moment, not understanding. "They smell good to me. Woodsy, I think. Manly."

Next to her, Ness nodded in agreement.

"But you smell good too," Janet added, blushing. "Sweeter, I think. Lighter?"

Rosalie laughed. "Yeah, we're meant to invite you in. But wolves don't smell good to us. We don't smell all that good to them, either."

"Weird," Janet mused. "Is that because you are supposed to be enemies?"

"Yes," Alice said. "But be careful. Not all of us are nice. There are others who do feed on humans, and they won't listen to you when you tell them to step away."

"But they are rare, right?" Janet asked.

"Not as rare as you think," Rosalie said. "Although it's been a while since we encountered them."

"We killed a lot back when Victoria made the army," Alice said.

"Those were all newborns," I replied. "There are so many others…"

"I'm talking about the ones we don't even know. I think there are more than we think," Rosalie said.

"Well, as long as they don't come here," I shrugged, pulling into a parking spot. "All right, where do we go first?"

"Lingerie!" Alice and Rosalie said together, and we laughed again.

We spent a long time shopping, giving Janet a complete new wardrobe even though she felt obviously uncomfortable receiving all these gifts from us. As the hour grew late, that nagging feeling in my chest started to grow worse, indicating I had been away from Edward for too long.

I texted him a picture of me in a red corset and told him I missed him, hoping that he at least had some form of comfort until we would go home again.

Alice almost forgot to give Janet some time to eat, but Ness reminded her and ate with Janet so she didn't have to eat alone. It couldn't have been really comfortable for her, but she kept up a game face and sauntered along with us, not showing when she was tired or surprised.

The last store we'd go to, was one where they sold fancy dresses.

"Oh Alice, I'm out here, I have too many already," I protested. But Alice shook her head, thrust a seemingly random dress in my hands and pushed me into the dressing room.

"Take your time," she said conspiratorially.

"Is Edward coming?" I asked hopefully.

"You'll see," she said smiling, meaning 'yes.'

I heard the others go around the store as they advised Janet on what dress would look good on her, and then they trailed off towards the other end of the place, using the dressing rooms over there.

Within minutes after I had started to take my clothes off, I smelled him. Two seconds later, he slipped into the cabin with me, his eyes dark as he looked at me via the mirror.

"No red corset?" he said so lowly it was almost a growl.

"You didn't reply, I thought you wouldn't like it," I said coyly, holding up the dress against my body to shield it from his view.

He stepped up to me, his clothes grazing my naked back, looking over my shoulder into the mirror and catching my gaze. His slender hands pried the fabric from my grip and it pooled to the floor, exposing my body to his eyes.

"Beautiful," he murmured, his hands coming up to graze my curves. "I can't wait to get you home."

As much as I would have wanted to make love to him in the cabin, I understood it really wasn't a good idea. I couldn't be quiet and he knew it.

We kissed each other senseless, his hands shamelessly seeking out the spots that drove me wild. The feel of the fabric of his clothes against my skin was devastatingly erotic.

Finally, he pulled back, smiling.

"Can I take you home?" he asked.

"How are you here?" I countered.

"I came running," I shrugged. "I didn't want to waste time finding a parking spot."

I giggled. "How are the boys at home?"

"Brawly," he replied. "When Carlisle joined in the mud fight, I was out."

I laughed and he looked down at me with an adoring smile on his face.

"I think we were finishing up here. I'll drive the girls home and see you there."

"I'll take you out," he promised. "I don't want Seth to know what I'm going to do to you when I get you alone."

"Oh, really?" I said playfully. "And what might those things be?"

"Dark, debauched things," he said darkly, leaning in to gently bite my neck.

I moaned softly, wishing I could go with him immediately. He pulled back all too soon and smirked.

"Buy the dress," he said. "I don't care what it looks like, but I will always love the context of when you bought it."

I smiled and pecked him one last time on the lips before he slipped out of the dressing room and out of the store.

When I emerged, we gathered to pay for our new things. Janet was flushing with all the new things she had gotten from us, and it was easy to see she felt beautiful with all these new pretty things to wear.

We had our stuff packed and went back to the car. Janet and Ness took a run for it since it was raining outside, and Alice, Rosalie and I smiled at each other. Rain didn't bother us at all. Hell, we didn't even get frizzy hair.

Back at home, an all-out fashion show was quickly organized, but Edward came up to me and took my hand, stealing me away for the rest of the evening. He took me deep into the woods, to a lake that was completely still in the dark night.

We undressed each other silently and slipped into the smooth water, the temperature not bothering us in the least. We swam, chasing each other under water or simply sliding against each other, the sensation heightened by the water slipping between us. We made love leisurely in the water, sometimes above the surface, sometimes below. Edward's eyes were filled with love and lust, and I knew that as long as I had him, all would be fine. As long as I could trust our love, the bond that we had, we would survive anything.

**~O~**

Monday brought a new issue, besides a highly annoying Dana whom we were pointedly ignoring. She kept stepping in our way, but we averted our gaze and walked along, simply brushing her aside. She was seething at being ignored, but in the end it fell right in line with Edward's point from the week before — she was easily overlooked.

When we got home after school, frustrated and annoyed, Esme took Edward and me into the kitchen.

"I got a letter from the school today," she said softly.

Edward's eyes widened as he obviously was hearing Esme's thoughts, and then cursed under his breath.

"Enlighten me, please," I asked, worried.

"Ness' Math teacher has requested a meeting with her parents or caretakers to discuss the possibility of putting her in a more advanced class."

This was what Ness had been worried about. But the implications of this letter were much bigger. The teacher had asked for Ness's parents. Edward and I however wouldn't be able to go to that meeting to talk to him. It would be Carlisle and Esme who would have to go to the school as Ness' guardians, in our place.

It was a bleak example of the consequences of the absurdity of our lives.

I swallowed thickly, trying not to get upset over this. Carlisle and Esme would do fine, about that I was not worried. But it hurt, deeply, to not be able to be there as Ness's parents.

I looked at Edward and he squeezed my hand.

"We knew this could happen," he said softly.

"Doesn't hurt less," I replied, and he agreed.

When Carlisle got home from his shift we talked through the upcoming meeting, which was scheduled for the next Thursday. Ness and Jacob joined the conversation and even though it made Jake visibly unhappy that Ness didn't want to go to a 'smarter class' as he put it, Ness was adamant.

"This one thing," she asked us, her eyes big and pleading. "I'm doing everything you want of me and I am not complaining. Give me this one thing. Please."

We agreed with her and worked out the finer details of possible scenarios of the upcoming meeting. When the humanoids went to bed, we stayed with Carlisle and Esme, talking for a long time about a certain brunette who was putting our lives upside down.

"You know," Emmett said from the living room. "It's perfectly doable to give her a hint here and there. Go a little vamp on her."

"Just be careful though," Carlisle warned. "You don't want her to start guessing."

"People will just think she is crazy," Edward shrugged.

"No, be careful," Alice said softly from her room. "She's more observant than you think."

Just how observant Dana actually was, we learned the next day in school. Her annoyance had obviously turned into something darker. I could see the craziness in her eyes and when I asked my siblings, they readily agreed.

My patience was wearing thin however and I knew my own eyes were black in rage. Try as I might, I couldn't calm down enough to get them light again. Edward wasn't in a much better shape, and not even Jasper could lighten us up.

During lunch, Dana approached us again. I flashed her a dark gaze but she didn't even flinch as she walked up to Ness.

"You know, perhaps it's better to leave the cheerleading squad. You see, it's only a matter of time before they kick you out again."

Where this totally random and unnecessary insult came from, I didn't know. My protective instinct kicked in however and put myself in between Ness and Dana, looking her square in the eye.

"I don't know what games you think you are playing, but I suggest you stop," I said lowly, letting my predatory nature seep through in my voice and looks, despite Alice's warning.

Dana blinked, confused by what was happening, then shrugged and walked away as if she simply lost interest.

"She made the connection," Edward said softly behind me. "She already suspected something, but now she is sure that we are extremely protective over Ness."

"I could have handled this myself, you know," Ness spoke up indignantly.

"Don't start with me now," I snapped, immediately sorry but unable to apologize. I hid my face in my hands and wished I could cry.

During homeroom, Mr. O'Neil came to talk to us to ask if we were all right.

"You are so subdued," he said softly as he sat down on an empty chair next to us. "Did something happen?"

"No sir, all is well," I lied.

"I'm not so sure," he said.

"It's Dana. She's creeping me out," I said off-handedly.

"Ah yes," he said. "She came to me, to ask if I was aware that you were married."

He was breaching his oath by telling us this, but I didn't mind. I kind of was beginning to get the feeling that he, too, thought we were something else than we pretended to be.

_Let it all collapse to pieces_, I thought wearily with my shield down. _I am tired of this shit._

Edward squeezed my hand under the table.

"If Dana does something that is out of line, come find me," Mr. O'Neil encouraged.

"We will," Edward replied, and apparently it was enough, because the teacher left us and went to see another student.

During the last short break of the day, we all gathered in the hallway. I was talking to Jake about how Seth and Janet were holding up by themselves around the house, when I sensed Dana coming towards us.

Holding a cup.

"Oh-oh," Alice muttered.

I followed Dana with my eyes and once again saw how crazy her gaze was. There was something seriously off with this girl. She walked up to Ness, who was standing with her back to Dana, talking to Edward.

"Hey, Renesmee?" Dana said sweetly.

Ness turned at the sound of her name. What happened next, only my siblings could fully witness with their enhanced eyesight.

As Ness turned to face Dana, Dana started to lift the cup, which held some slushy-like goo in it, intending to throw the ick in Ness's face.

I jumped in before this could happen and grabbed Dana's hand holding the cup, throwing the stuff into her own face instead.

Dana cried out in surprise, and looked up at us, but none of us had moved. I had been back into my old position before she had blinked. Dana looked at the sticky stuff that was now dripping from her face onto her clothes, and cried out again. Her herd stood behind her, utterly surprised as to what had just happened.

Jodi came up first, digging for tissues in her backpack and handing them to Dana so she could wipe her face.

We finally couldn't hold in our laughter anymore and exploded in cahoots.

"What's the matter, Dana," I said between chokes of laughter. "Wasn't this supposed to happen? You really should have your eyes checked. You are _exceptionally_ unobservant."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "What are you getting at?"

"Oh, I don't know," I said, turning serious and lacing my voice with venom. "Perhaps you should reconsider. You don't know who you are fighting with."

Dana huffed and came toward me, but this time it was Ness stepping in, putting her hand on Dana's shoulder.

Dana's eyes widened in surprise when she felt the force I could see Ness was using.

"Don't you dare touch her," she said darkly. "You don't want to mess with us."

They locked gazes for a long moment, and I suddenly realized that Ness was holding Dana's shoulder in such a way that Dana couldn't move.

I had never seen this dark side of my daughter and in all honesty I didn't know if I should be worried or impressed.

When Ness did let Dana go, finally, Dana spun around on her heels and walked away as quickly as she could without running.

Emmett stepped up to Ness and lifted her off the ground, swirling her around in a big bear hug.

"You make me so damn proud," he whispered in her ear, making her giggle adoringly.

**~O~**

After school, we went outside to play for a bit. Seth was in such a good mood he lifted us up a bit with him, and we made use of that gratefully.

We were playing ball outside, teaming up with boys against girls. Janet insisted to join but also insisted that we did not hold back anything.

"Then Bella has to shield," Emmett stated.

"Bella has to do nothing," I said. "We have Alice and you have Edward. Equal opportunities. Besides, Alice is blind and we have Janet and she's just not as fast."

Emmett grumbled something.

"What are you talking about?" Janet asked, perplexed. "Shield?"

"Yeah," Emmett said sheepishly after he met Seth's murderous glare.

"Sake," Seth cursed.

"Shield?" Janet asked again.

"Bella can block other's gifts," Emmett said as Seth's shoulders sagged.

"Gifts?" Janet's voice got smaller each time she spoke.

"You see," Seth said, walking up to her, "some vamps have gifts. Alice can see the future, for example. And Jasper can manipulate emotions. And Edward can read thoughts," he kind of mumbled in addition.

"Thoughts?" Janet squeaked.

"Don't worry," Edward said, "I block them out mostly, unless you address me."

"Oh my God," Janet whispered, and a blush exploded in her face.

"Anyway, Bella should shield," Emmett persisted.

"What does that _mean_?" Janet asked, still utterly mortified.

"It means I can block the others," I tried to explain. "If I shield them, Edward can't read their minds and Jasper can't manipulate. Alice can't see anyway because of the wolves."

"Wolves," Janet repeated, perplexed.

"Don't worry," I smiled. "Nothing changes."

"Like hell," she muttered, looking to the ground.

Emmett opened his mouth again to speak, but I cut him off. "I'll shield. Now, can we play already?"

We played ball, mindful of Janet's limitations. She was looking wide-eyed at our speed and strength and sometimes simply forgot to play as she took in the spectacle.

The boys won, as was to be predicted, and after the game everybody scattered, moving on to their own activities. I kept my shield on everyone because I could tell that Edward was feeling somewhat tense with the extra people around the house. He had explained to me that he was so attuned to the others that he could block them out easily, but not these new minds.

He told me that even in her mind, Janet was pure and shy. He was impressed by her demeanor.

"She got a lot of information to process today," I said as we walked along the edge of the forest, still in sight of the house.

"She's deliberating asking Alice if she can see her future with Seth," Edward said, squeezing my hand. "She really is a sweet girl."

"I'm happy for Seth," I said.

"Me too," he replied.

We walked along, swinging our interlinked hands in between us.

Edward exhaled happily, closing his eyes for a moment. "This silence is so restful. Blissful, even."

I smiled at him. "I am glad I can give you this."

"You give more than that," he replied, looking down at me with smoldering eyes.

"Oh yeah?" I asked. "Like what?"

"Well, your squeals when I tickle you," he laughed and he charged at me, tickling my sides.

I squealed, like he predicted, and squirmed myself out of his grip before I took a run for it. He was coming after me in an instant, sometimes getting a grip on me to tickle me mercilessly, sometimes missing me. We ran around the grounds, until he really attacked me and tackled me to the ground, the force of his charge making us roll over the grass for several feet.

Edward roared, the sound not even remotely human, and attacked my neck, making me squeal again.

A foreign gasp alarmed us both and we froze, looking to our left.

There was Dana, standing downwind so we couldn't have smelled her, looking utterly alarmed.

Oh my God.

Edward got off from me and I stood up after him, completely lost as to what to do.

"What are you?" Dana whispered.

"What are you doing here?" Edward said in turn, ignoring her question. "You are on private grounds. This is trespassing. Please leave or we will have to call the police."

Dana shook her head. I couldn't read her, I had no idea what she was thinking. Which made me realize my shield was still covering the entire grounds. I slammed it down, giving Edward access to Dana's thoughts.

"That sound, what was that?" she asked, completely bewildered.

"What sound?" Edward asked, acting oblivious.

"You… you growled, or something."

Edward threw his head back and laughed, a nasty, condescending laugh. "You are out of your mind Dana. I _growled_? Your imagination is running away with you."

"I heard you," she persisted.

"Leave the grounds, Dana, or I will have you removed," Edward said darkly.

"Make me," Dana hissed.

"Hey guys?" Janet's voice drifted toward us from the porch. "Is it okay if Ness and I go out tonight?"

Dana's eyes snapped up to Janet's figure on the porch, then back to us. I could see her mind working and I didn't like it at all.

"Leave, Dana," Edward said angrily, barely hiding his true nature.

"What are you going to do," she said nastily. "_Bite_ me?"

Oh my God!

"I just might," Edward replied. Then he walked up to her and simply started pushing her towards the driveway.

"Don't tell me you came on foot," I said, confused when I didn't see her car anywhere. That would have been a long walk for her.

She laughed. She _laughed_. "No, I parked my car out back. I wanted to see if I could surprise you, since you always seem to know I am coming."

Her words were so alarming, I wanted to flail and panic.

Edward all but pushed Dana all the way up to where her car was parked between the trees, then stood guard until she had left the premises. He ran back to me when she was out of sight and I saw the wild panic in his eyes.

Within moments, all the others were around us. Janet came last, running to us as fast as she could.

"I am sorry," she sobbed. "Did I ruin it?"

"No," Alice said. "Don't worry. It was a matter of time before it all exploded. I think it is happening."

"Let's go inside," Carlisle said. "We need a plan."

We followed him into the living room. Seth and Janet disappeared into the guestroom for a bit, realizing they could not be of help to us right now.

"She won't tell, for now," Alice said. "I am very sure of this. But she's planning something with what she knows and I don't know what." She gripped her head in frustration as Jasper rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"We need to pack," Esme said. "I hate to leave everything behind. I can be ready to leave in two days."

"That gives me time to wrap up in the hospital," Carlisle said sadly. "I would prefer it if I could hand over my cases to others."

"And we'll stay in school," Jasper said. "Don't show anyone that we are leaving. It will be suspicious and then I do think Dana will tell."

Alice nodded numbly, looking sad.

"Also, when we are in school we can keep tabs on her," Edward said. "We need that now."

"No killing then?" Rosalie asked. "I can do it, you know."

"No Rosalie, you wouldn't be able to live with yourself," Carlisle said gently. "In the end, Dana is still a child, a minor. She is only seventeen."

Rosalie kept quiet and nodded, her expression unreadable.

"So we'll leave in the weekend," I summarized. "I am sorry, Ness."

She nodded ad me, showing in her face that she understood. Then I looked at my husband. "We better start packing."

He nodded, and we broke up in a somber mood, sad that our time here was coming to an end so quickly.

Ness and Janet did not go out that night. We watched movies until they were too tired to keep their eyes open. After that, we sat in silence downstairs, a quiet vigil.

Thursday in school was eerie. We knew that Dana hadn't told anyone, but even I could tell something was moving behind her eyes when she looked at us. Like she was waiting for a sign, another slip-up that would confirm to her for once and for all that we weren't human.

If my heart would have been beating still, it would have been hammering.

But we made it through the day without incidents, and waited in the parking lot after school for the meeting with Ness's Math teacher.

Well, Carlisle and Esme would do the meeting, but we wanted to be there, of course.

We had talked about the meeting and if it should still take place, since we were leaving, and had decided it was best to do so, since we didn't want to give the impression just yet that we were going. We were still fabricating a story to go with and that would cover all the details.

Ness hung with us, on the verge of tears. Not because of the Math thing, but because of the entire situation. I hugged her to comfort her, swaying our bodies gently from left to right to soothe her.

When I felt Edward stiffen next to me I opened my eyes and saw Dana staring at us from the other side of the parking lot, her eyes narrowed.

Edward growled low in his throat and if Dana had been closer, I was sure she would have heard.

Carlisle and Esme arrived in the parking lot and we greeted them when they got out of his Mercedes. Esme looked over her shoulder at Dana, who was still looking at us.

"I don't like her," she said. "Not at all."

**~O~**

The meeting was tense for Edward and me. We sat outside in the hallway as Ness, Carlisle and Esme were in the room with the teacher. We heard every word of their conversation and even though I trusted Carlisle and Esme to handle this perfectly, I was still nervous.

Edward took my hand and twisted my wedding ring around my finger endlessly, trying to reassure me but betraying his nerves by his actions all the same.

"This sucks," I finally muttered, leaning my head back against the wall. "This really, really sucks."

"I know," he replied. "Next time will be better, I'm sure."

"Alice is probably freaking out about doing this so shortly before Christmas," I tried to joke.

Edward smirked. "If she gives us a hard time about that, I'll have her head."

We fell silent again as we listened how inside the room, the teacher wrapped up the meeting. He was annoyed, implying that Carlisle and Esme were willfully holding back Ness's development, but they brushed it off easily and went along undisturbed.

When they emerged, the teacher looked surprised to see us sitting outside the room, waiting. Ness walked into my arms immediately, no longer caring to keep up appearances. I didn't mind.

Her touch showed me her memories of the teacher who was completely unwilling to cooperate.

"I sure won't miss him," she whispered quietly in my ear, and I chuckled.

**~O~**

Friday in school, we said goodbye silently. There was a definite Christmassy atmosphere in the hallways, but I had a hard time to enjoy it. I chatted some with Mark and Jimmy, who I hadn't really seen over the last weeks, and I told Jodi that she needed to cut herself loose from Dana, and soon.

She stammered a bit, confused, then walked off.

"It's her own journey," Edward said softly, comfortingly. "It's her own choice to make."

I sighed and leaned back against him. "It feels weird to leave like this. Have you done it before?"

"Yeah, often," he said. "Sometimes it just doesn't work out."

He was quiet, tense.

"What's wrong?" I asked, turning in his embrace so I could face him.

He met my gaze, looking worried. "This is the consequence of our life, Bella. I hope this won't lead you to regret your decision."

"I will never regret it," I said vehemently. "Do not worry about that, my love. When I chose this life, I understood the consequences. I will not regret," I repeated, fisting the collar of his oxford and making sure my point was clear.

We decided that we would confide in Mr. O'Neil. During homeroom, we asked for a moment alone with him.

"We came to say goodbye," Edward said politely.

"You are moving?" he asked, surprised.

"We are moving on," Jasper said subtly. "It has turned out we can't settle here."

His words were excellently chosen.

"That was quick," Mr. O'Neil said. "I am sad to see you go. You are all brilliant minds."

"We have to leave," Alice said softly. "We would appreciate it if you would not pay too much attention to our absence. We will deliver a letter which explains the reason of our departure."

"I will look out for it," the teacher said. "Take care of yourselves. I don't know what darkness is hanging over you, but I hope the situation will be solved soon."

We smiled in thanks and finished class, huddled together and silently planning how we would decorate the new house to distract ourselves.

Ness was done earlier than the rest of us that day but we simply skipped the last hours, going home all together in three cars.

Of course Dana was watching us from the parking lot, and I could see her mind working even though I didn't know what she was thinking.

We were all nervous, but we tried to keep the atmosphere light. We would leave the following morning and all of us helped to pack away the Christmas decorations. We'd leave most of our things at the house, having a moving service transport the stuff next week. We would just take the most necessary things with us as we drove to our new home.

We'd move to Canada and Ness was trying to see the sunny side of it all, exclaiming that she would have an excellent reason to learn French now.

Janet and Seth were out to a nearby town for the night, leaving us to our packing. I felt sad that they had come to us during such a stressful time, but Jacob assured me they didn't mind and were simply worried for us. They even offered to stay in the house to supervise until the movers came. It was very sweet of them.

After dinner, I noticed how our daughter was restless.

"Why don't you go to Seth and Janet?" I asked her and Jacob. "Get out for a bit, say goodbye to this place. Go see a movie. No curfew," I winked.

"Yes, let's do that," Jacob sad, standing up. "Will you come with me, Ness?"

She bit her lip for a moment as she thought, then nodded and took Jake's hand so he could pull her to her feet.

I hugged her goodbye, asked Jake to take good care of her, and went to the kitchen as they left, to help Esme and Alice packing the last of the china.

We were working quietly at a human pace, not seeing the need to rush and it was easier to chat for a bit as we worked slower.

And then it escalated. The phone rang and Alice's eyes went blank, just before a look of absolute desperation washed over her face.

"Oh no, oh no, no!"

Alarmed, I answered the phone that was lying on the counter, seeing how Edward's face turned ashen as he looked into Alice's mind.

"Hello?" I spoke into the receiver, forgetting to look who was calling.

"Mom?" Her voice was frantic. "Mommy? Oh my God mom, it's so horrible!" Ness sobbed, her words garbled in her panic.

Oh no, my daughter...

I felt my knees give way and sank to the floor. "What is wrong?" I asked urgently. "Ness? What happened?"

She couldn't speak at first through her gasping breaths and heartbreaking sobs. "It's Jake. The car... It crashed. And Dana… Mommy, there is so much _blood_..."

* * *

_Next update: soon._


	24. Solution

**A/N I don't own Twilight. It owns me, though. **

_Hi all. This is it, the last chapter. The ending as I had planned it out last year, when I started writing this fic. It won't please everybody. I hope you can live with it though :)_

_Thanks to Sherry, whom I met through this very story. A true and wonderful friend. She is my rock and she talked me off the ledge so many times I lost count. Thank you for your patience, for standing by me and for helping me seeing this story to its end. _

_Thanks to all my readers who have enjoyed this story. I hope one day to pick it back up again and write it the way I had wanted to. This has been my first fanfic and it has been a wonderful experience. The journey of these characters is now over. They will have to do it on their own from here :)_

* * *

I was running before Ness finished her sentence.

"Wait, Bella!" Esme called after me.

"Where are you?" I asked Ness, trying to hide the blind panic in my voice. "Tell me where you are honey."

She gave me a general location and I sped off, not caring who was following me or who might see me. If I kept in the woods, I'd be safe from human eyes.

A soft whisper of cloth just behind me told me that Edward was following me, now on the phone with Alice.

"Are you hurt?" I asked Ness. "Are you hurting anywhere?"

"I'm ok mommy," Ness sobbed. "But Jake is in the car and he's unconscious. And he…" Her words turned into a wail before she could finish the sentence.

"Ssh," I tried to reassure her. "Jake is a tough guy. He's been through a lot before and came out just fine. I'm on my way honey. Daddy and I are coming. Where are you now?"

"I'm at the car. Jakey, please wake up," she sobbed, not addressing me anymore.

"Can you describe the scene baby? Can you tell me what happened?"

"We were driving," Ness hiccupped, "and then Dana was behind us in her car. And she just slammed into us. There was nothing we could do. I saw her eyes mommy, I was so scared."

Dana had tried to kill my child.

I think it was time I tried to kill Dana.

"I'm almost there baby. We need a few more minutes. Have people stopped yet?"

"Somebody called an ambulance. What do I do, mommy? They can't take Jake!"

"Are you hurt?" I asked again. "Are you bleeding or bruised anywhere?"

"No, I'm okay. I really am. But Jake… his legs are trapped."

Oh no.

"Carlisle is running from the hospital," Edward said quietly beside me. "Esme is bringing the car. Alice is staying home with Jasper and Rosalie and Emmett are coming back from their hunt to help."

I nodded wordlessly, endlessly grateful that my husband was calm enough to set all these logistics in motion while I comforted our child.

And come to terms with the gut-wrenching guilt that I had sent my daughter out with Jacob. _I_ had sent her away, and now this had happened.

Over the phone I heard the screeching sirens of the ambulance in the far distance.

I sped up and hoped to whatever higher deity that Carlisle would be there in time, and that the regular emergency doctors would not try to tend to Jake.

I couldn't even begin to fathom the consequences of that.

I smelled the freshly spilled blood long before the scene of the accident came into view. Uncaring, I emerged from the tree line along the side of the highway as the ambulance arrived and ran at a human pace to the road, hoping that nobody would wonder where I came from.

Two mangled cars, almost indistinguishable as two separate vehicles, in the middle of the road. Debris everywhere. Behind it, cars stopping, unable to pass. A couple of people getting out, standing by, alarmed, calling out, or just looking.

Bloodlust is great, even in humankind.

Before us, a female medic was trying to tend to a frantic Ness.

"Let me check you, honey. You are burning up! Come on, let's go to the ambulance."

Ness tried to pull free, crying and desperate. "I'm fine, really. Let me go, please. Please!"

"Ness!" I called out, running to her as quickly as I reasonably could.

Ness cried out in relief and pulled back from the nurse with such force she raised her eyebrows in shock, but she let go and watched how Renesmee ran into my arms, crying. Edward was with us in an instant, hugging us both, his body almost convulsing with the force of his sobs.

We clung to each other for a moment before I pulled back, checking my daughter's face and body.

"I'm okay," she said softly. "I was catapulted through the window, but I'm okay. I really am."

We looked doubtful, but didn't have much time to pay attention to it. Edward stepped back from us to talk to the worried nurse, distracting her.

I finally took a moment to really take in the scene of the crash. It was horrid. Jake's Rabbit was completely total loss, and Dana's car behind it was in no better shape.

With my vampire sight I could see every detail in the dark, lit up by the blue and red lights from the ambulances and fire trucks that had arrived at the scene.

Firemen were working to get both Dana and Jake out of the vehicles in which they were trapped. Dana was unconscious and bleeding heavily, from what I could see.

Violent bloodlust turned my vision red and my eyes black. I started forward to go and get to her, get my revenge, but Edward stopped me with force. "Don't," he breathed in my ear. "You'll expose us."

I took a deep breath and squeezed Edward's hands so hard he must register pain, but he didn't show it.

Carlisle arrived at the scene next, his white coat still on from the hospital and his medicine bag in hand. Nobody would even notice he appeared from the woods – he might have been in one of the ambulances.

He ran up to us and did a quick check on Renesmee, looking into her eyes and focusing on her heartbeat. His face was tight, shocked, and his eyes betrayed his intense worry.

"Go to Jake," Ness urged him. "Please."

Carlisle did as he was told and went to Jake's mangled Rabbit. The firemen just succeeded in pulling the roof off the wreck so Carlisle could reach him. He bent over Jake's unconscious figure, checking his vitals and looking into his eyes.

"He's going to be okay," Carlisle said softly, but we could hear. "He's badly wounded, but his heart beat is strong and his blood pressure is good. He is already healing."

He looked over Jake's body, still trapped in the vehicle.

"His legs are crushed," he continued and Ness whimpered as her knees buckled, "but they will heal I'm sure. We'll need to reset them though, the bones are already healing."

I swallowed thickly when I thought back to the last time that had happened and I really wished he didn't need to go through something like that ever again.

"Ness!" Rosalie's voice drifted over to us then. "Are you okay?"

She came running up to us and when I looked over her shoulder I saw that Emmett had arrived too. He looked ashen with worry.

"I'm okay," Ness replied, letting Rosalie hug her fiercely. "I really am. But Jake, he's still trapped…" She broke out in tears again and Rosalie held her against her, rocking her body gently as she tried to give comfort.

I felt a lump in my throat and clung to Edward in my distress to see Ness so upset, to see Jake so badly wounded. My breathing was irregular, and vaguely I registered that had I been human, I would have been hyperventilating. Edward was tense, his black eyes showing his worry.

"He'll be fine. He knows better than to make you worry like this," Rose murmured.

As Ness was now cared for by Emmett and Rose, Edward and I walked up to Carlisle and Jake.

"He's trapped, see?" Carlisle pointed us to where Jake's legs were surrounded by mangled steel. The skin was already whole again, but the bitter smell of wolf blood was still thick in the air. "We can't get him out unless we show our strength, but I don't want to wait for the firemen, either."

I looked at Jake's face, serene in his unconsciousness. I cupped his flaming hot cheek, feeling my eyes burn with the tears that would not come.

"We'll get you out of here," I whispered. "Don't worry."

"Doctor, is he stable enough to be removed from the car?" a fireman asked as he walked up to Carlisle.

Carlisle closed his eyes for a moment, thinking fast. "Give me a bit more time. I need to be sure," he finally stalled. The fireman nodded and stepped back, signaling to his men they needed to wait.

In the other car, they were just getting Dana out. I looked at the scene, not feeling anything for a moment.

"She'll still alive and she'll live," Edward said darkly, nodding at Dana. "But I am not sure for how long."

I knew he was referring to the same desire that was clawing at my backbone — kill Dana, for she had tried to kill our own.

"Not now, Edward," Carlisle said sternly, unknowing of how Edward had stopped me earlier from getting to Dana. "We take care of our family first. We need to figure out how to get Jake out without having the firemen witnessing the healing process."

Right at the moment the piercing smell of gasoline reached my awareness, there was a hiss and an explosion, and Jake's car was on fire.

We stumbled back, deadly afraid of the flames and panic overtook me. Jake was still trapped in the car. The heat of the flames beat against us and lit up the scene of the accident. Around us were shouts and panicked cries.

I rushed forward to the car, but two sets of hands pulled me back forcefully.

"No Bella!" Edward shouted. "You won't survive!"

"Jacob!" I cried, frantic. "Jacob!" I broke into sobbing and heard Renesmee's panicked voice behind me as she realized what was happening.

A light gust of air alerted me that Rosalie and Emmett had run past us. Emmett was on top of the car immediately, dangerously close to the flames, wrenching the wrecked metal apart with his bare hands.

Rosalie was at the side, doing the same. Esme and Alice held Ness while Jasper — when did they arrive? — was shooting wave after wave of emotion over the attending medics and firemen, distracting them and making them sluggish, slow, disoriented. Carlisle helped, somehow making sure that the attending medics all turned their back to the accident.

Mere seconds after Rosalie and Emmett pulled Jake out of the burning car, it exploded completely, the flames rising high in the air.

Jake was on the ground, his rolling head telling us that he was coming to.

"Jacob!" Ness cried again and she squirmed away from Esme's hold and ran towards him, falling to the ground near his head, sobbing.

"Jakey, please open your eyes," she whispered, her tears falling on his face.

When his lids fluttered, he looked up at her and gave a watery smile, before his face contorted in pain. He managed to cup her cheek before he cursed.

"Ow."

"I know son," Carlisle said as he knelt down at Jacob's side. "Your legs are healing but they're healing in the wrong way. I'd rather rebreak them now, before they are fully healed. It will hurt less."

Jacob chuckled humorlessly, wincing with the pain it brought. "Hurt less?"

"You know this, son."

Jacob took a deep breath and found Ness's eyes. "Do it," he said, looking at her. "I want to be able to dance with my girl again."

In the midst of the hassle and the confusion, and the loud noise of Dana's exploding car, Carlisle rebroke Jacob's legs so he could set them properly and the bones would heal correctly again.

And even though the humans could probably not hear Jacobs piercing cries of agony over all the noises, we could, and they cut right into my soul, where I knew I would remember them forever.

Ness sat with him as Carlisle did what he could, holding his head in her lap and whispering reassurances.

I finally gave in and sank to the ground. Edward, who was still holding me, sank down with me and held me tightly, trying to stop my uncontrollable shivering.

Jasper kneeled behind us and put his hands on our shoulders, giving us the same calm he was giving Jake.

Around us, the medics and firemen were still moving around, still clearly confused but trying to help where they could, talking to bystanders and trying to put out the fire in the burning cars. Carlisle refused any assistance and was left alone with Jacob.

"I never saw this coming," Alice said softly as she walked up to us, plopping down to the floor and leaning back against Edward, who wrapped his free arm around her. "I really didn't."

"It's because Jake was there," Edward said. "You're absolutely not to blame for this."

"A snap decision," Alice whispered. "She must have recognized their car and gone mad."

Medics only now wheeled Dana past us on a stretcher bed. She was conscious and I flew to my feet, intent on telling her the truth and kill her.

In that order.

Edward was behind me instantly, holding me with such force I almost yelped in pain. The medics stopped for a moment, probably thinking we knew Dana. Our black eyes were not noticeable in the dark — the medics wouldn't see any danger.

Dana looked back at us with an empty gaze, her head wrapped in bloody bandages.

Her eyes shifted from me to Edward and then lit up. "You're pretty," she slurred, her voice as innocent as I had ever heard it.

I blinked in confusion and looked at Edward, who looked as surprised as I felt.

The medics moved Dana into the ambulance and it sped off, the sirens sharp in my ears and the lights blazing in the night.

Just as I wanted to ask Edward what had happened to Dana, another medic came up to us and asked us if we had been in the accident too, but we shook our head.

"Please leave the scene, kids," the medic continued. "The police is arriving and they'll be clearing the roads soon."

I looked around me and saw that Carlisle and Jake had disappeared from their spot on the road, and realized that the sluggishness that Jasper had been spreading to confuse the attending medics and firemen had settled on us, too.

I nodded vaguely at the medic who had asked us to leave and wobbled to the side of the road, Edward's strong arms supporting me.

Emmett, Rosalie and Ness were waiting for us there. I hugged Ness fiercely before I looked around me, wondering where the others had disappeared to.

"Carlisle is carrying Jake home," Rosalie said softly. "Esme went with them. Alice and Jasper are further down the road to see if there were people who saw too much."

I nodded numbly, then fell into Rosalie's arms, overwhelmed by emotion and most of all gratefulness. She, the one who had hated Jake the most of all, who had had the hardest time to accept him as a member of our family, had risked her own life to save his. "Thank you," I cried. "Thank you." I moved so that I could hug Emmett too, and he returned the embrace, his force telling me how shocked he had been during this all.

Edward and Ness joined he group hug and we stood for a long moment, until Edward broke away from us. "I am going to help Alice and Jasper. Rosie, Em, can you take Bella and Ness home?"

I turned to face my husband, alarmed. "Don't leave us."

"It's okay baby," Edward said, his voice rough. He cupped my cheek. "I'll see you at home."

He turned and walked away stiffly, into the direction of the traffic jam where Alice and Jasper were walking ahead.

"His biggest fear is that something happens to either of you, and that just happened," Rosalie said softly, comfortingly. "He needs some time to process it all."

"By walking away?" I asked.

"Give him some time, Bella. He's saving you from a severe bout of intenseness," Emmett replied.

I wrapped my arm around Ness when she leaned into me and looked at Edward's retreating form.

"Is daddy angry?" she asked softly.

"No honey," I replied as I kissed the top of her head. Unintended and unbidden, the memory of the crash drifted into my mind's eye through Ness's touch. It was traumatic. "He just needs some time alone I guess."

"Let's go home," Rosalie offered. "Alice and Jasper will take care of Edward. Let's go check on Jake."

We nodded and left, running home at an even pace, but I couldn't stop crying for leaving Edward alone, even if it was what he needed right now. Renesmee held my one hand and Rosalie the other. Rose squeezed my hand comfortingly, whispering reassurances every now and then.

Back at the house, Carlisle had treated all of Jake's wounds. Jacob was in his bed now, sleeping soundly. Renesmee hugged me one more time and went up the stairs quietly to sit with Jake until he woke again.

We stayed in the living room, sitting down in silence as we waited for the rest to come home.

"Seth and Janet have been warned," Carlisle said as he joined us. "They are coming home now, but will take their time to give us some time alone."

"Okay," I whispered, still feeling lost in the chaos of it all.

Esme saw my confusion and sat down next to me, rubbing my back. "It will be all right, honey."

"I know," I breathed. "Just shocked, is all."

"I understand," Esme replied.

We sat quietly, almost unmoving until Seth and Janet came back home, looking ashen and worried. Esme filled them in on what happened exactly and Seth went to see Jacob as Janet stayed with us in the living room, looking lost.

"I can't even make you tea for comfort," she said forlornly.

"Would _you_ like some tea?" Esme asked. "Let me make you some. Come."

Both went to the kitchen and silence descended upon us again until Carlisle knelt in front of me.

"Are you okay, Bella?"

"Just shocked beyond belief," I replied. "I mean, I know Ness can't really get hurt, and she wasn't, but then Jake, and the fire…" I stopped talking, unable to continue.

"It was a close call," he said softly. "But all was solved well in the end."

I huffed, not sure. "I want to kill Dana," I confessed. "She tried to kill Jake and Ness."

Carlisle was silent then. It surprised me that he was not immediately refusing to even listen to such an idea.

Just at that moment the door opened and Edward, Alice and Jasper stepped into the house.

Edward was with me in an instant, pulling me up against him and kissing me, forcing my body to fold backwards with the force of his embrace.

Ness came running down the stairs then, having heard Edward come home, and ran into his arms just as he let me go. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and hugged her, his large frame enfolding her tiny one.

"I'm so glad you are safe," he whispered.

"Daddy," Ness said quietly. "You _know_ I can't get hurt."

Edward just tightened his embrace, not replying to her statement.

"What happened?" I asked in general, hoping that Alice or Jasper would answer.

Edward still held Ness, swaying to the left and right gently. It didn't look like he was going to let her go anytime soon, and Ness didn't look like she minded at all.

"You won't believe this," Alice said. "Dana lost her memory. She lost it all. Jasper and Edward went to the hospital and they listened in to what the doctors were telling each other and her parents. She's child-like now. Her brain damage is so severe the doctors don't expect her to ever come back to normal again."

I blinked, unbelieving.

"And what do you think?" I asked. "She was so close to finding out."

"She was," Jasper agreed. "But Alice has looked into the future and there really is no chance at all she will ever think of it again, let alone speak of it. Her memory is wiped clean, she's lost her entire character, basically. She won't ever get it back, and if anything recovers, it's memories from her childhood. Her short-term memory will forever be lost."

I stood, stunned. "She doesn't remember."

"She doesn't. She doesn't know who we are. She didn't recognize her parents or her brother."

"She's rendered harmless," Alice added softly. "It's bleak, but she lost her soul basically, and all she knows, and her parents lost the essence of their child due to her actions."

"Apart from that, she'll never walk again," Edward said quietly. "I heard the doctor's thoughts."

I looked at my husband, who still stood holding Ness.

"That is horrible," Janet whispered as she came back into the living room, holding a steaming mug of tea.

"Poor child," Esme said. "Surely this should not have happened."

"In a way, this is a good solution for us," Carlisle said carefully. "There is no damage control that needs to be done now. You say Dana will never remember?" he asked Alice, who shook her head in reply.

"Her entire mind is reset. She'll have to learn her own first name again," she said.

Even I could feel some sadness for this girl, who had obviously been so crazy that she had become a danger to others and herself — just as what she turned out to be.

And now she would never be able to hurt anybody ever again. She had taken care of our problem by herself, in the worst possible way. The only good thing about this in the end I guess was that she was still alive, and that her parents didn't need to mourn the loss of their child.

Although I wondered how they would cope with what had happened to her now.

I stepped forward to join Edward and Ness in their embrace and for an endless moment we stood, the three of us, surrounded by the rest of the family.

Dana was dealt with. Ness was okay and Jake would heal. Our family was still complete, like it would be for the rest of forever.

And I knew that as long as we all had each other, we would survive.

As long as we had each other to love, we would be fine.

_~The end._


End file.
